


Kuroko no Past Arc One: The Shadow's Past

by FluffyVillian162



Series: Kuroko No Past Trilogy [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, First Arc of Kuroko no Past Trilogy that I planning to make, How they get to the other world is so stupid, M/M, Most likely some spelling and grammatical errors here and there because of auto correct, No basketball, They all go the another world kind of thing, but i was too lazy to rewrite it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-13 01:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 25,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9100501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyVillian162/pseuds/FluffyVillian162
Summary: Kuroko Tetsuya was someone who everyone thought was innocent and kind, but what if, just underneath the surface there was something, just lurking, waiting to come out and change the very phantom they all knew and loved?





	1. Prologue Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, this is my first fanfic, so please don't expect too much. Please comment if you can!

_The Shadow’s Past_

_..._

  
_Prologue Part One_

 

**Third Person POV**

 

It was a peaceful morning in Tokyo, with no sound or life to be found. Except for a flash of teal that remains unnoticed, looking at the basketball court around him with nothing but sadness in his now dull sky-colored orbs. The boy was unmoving, with his poker face now staring at the worn-down basketball in his hands.The boy moved his hand to trace the black lines on the orange sphere.

“Why did it end this way.....?” he murmured.

 

_***~2 weeks ago~*** _

 

_It was the week after the Winter Cup had ended, and Kuroko was walking to Seirin’s gym for after-school practice. His face looked ever stoic, but if one looked closely, one would see that his eyes held a sort of gleam in them, and his lips tugged a little more upward than usual. Kuroko was glad that everything was back to normal now with his previous friends, the Generation of Miracles. All of them had re-kindled their love for basketball after losing to Seirin. Kuroko really needed to thank Seirin for that. He was released from his thoughts when he crashed into the gym door._

‘That was close,’ _he thought. He checked his watch, only for his face to then change into one of shock and worry. It was already past 5._ ‘Club activities should have started a while ago.’ _he thought. Then, he shook his head._ ‘Maybe coach has something else planned for today…’ _With that reaffirmation, he continued to stay there and wait, sitting down on the concrete, only to feel his eyes slowly begin to droop, and his consciousness fade away, as he fell into the abyss of sleep._

 

_**2 hours later…** _

_Kuroko woke up with his neck feeling as if it had been twisted the wrong way and then put back. He then look up to the sky and expected to see a pink-orange shaded sky, only to be slightly shocked and awe as what was before him was a obsidian colored sheet full of specks of light, and together, these two things made up space and what we call the night sky. As Kuroko was too busy admiring the enrapturing scenery before him, he couldn’t sense the presence coming towards him._

_“Tetsuya-sama, you’ve seem to have gotten weaker.” The old and raspy voice stated in complete seriousness. The voice made Kuroko’s whole body stiffen, and his posture readjust itself to what it had been 4 years prior, and the 12 years before that. Kuroko then turned to face the man, the joy in his eyes that could be seen when he was looking towards the night sky was gone, replaced with a face even more stoic than anything he has used for the past 4 years. As the two faced each other, a staring contest ensued, with dull gray meeting a judging icy blue, with the icy blue taking in the man’s features to try and spot any differences the man made have gained with the two’s time away from each other. The man had solid black hair, with no gray streaks to be seen. His face didn’t have a single wrinkle, with the only indication of the man’s mood being the slight crease in his eyebrows. The man wore a black tail coat outside of a pristine white shirt, giving the man a butler image, along with his formal black pants, glass spectacle, white wrinkle-free gloves, and blood-red tie. To complete the ensemble, the man had on shiny waxed dress shoes._

_After the man had determined that Kuroko had finished examining him, he opened his mouth, causing Kuroko to tense, and began to speak._

_“Tetsuya-sama,” he repeated, “His Majesty and her Highness wish for you to return.”_

_“No,” Kuroko said without hesitation. “I am quite happy here, and I won’t have anyone ruining that for me, even if it’s you, Marcuil.” The man now known as Marcuil only nodded, and began to speak once more._

_“I understand, Testuya-sama, and as does his Majesty, which is why he has decided that you will have 2 weeks more time if you wish.” Kuroko stayed silent, as he knew there was something more if that man was giving him an extension on anything. And, as expected, his silence was rewarded. “However,” Marcuil began once again,“You will need to complete your training, and no matter what the reason may be, you will not be allowed to leave the palace at all unless His Majesty has said otherwise.” Although Kuroko’s face remained impassive and his eyes still clear of any emotion, on the inside, he was shocked._ ‘Just not being allowed to leave? That seems too good to be true....could there be something I’m missing?’ _Ideas and thoughts continued to swirl in his head, until he finally breathed out a silent sigh, smiled fondly, and thought,_ ‘If I’m allowed to stay with everyone longer, then...I will accept any consequences that I may have to face because of that!’ _Kuroko then thought with determination._

_“I will accept his Majesty’s offer.” Kuroko said as calmly and cooly as he could, with determination flashing to his eyes for only a second. Marcuil then smiled._

_“Very well, Tetsuya-sama, his Majesty will be holding you to that promise.” Marcuil said, before leaving the way he came, with his formal shoes producing a *click clack* in his steps, and then turning into a black mist, disappearing into the night._

_After Kuroko had assured himself that Marcuil had left, his posture relaxed slight, and he turned on his heels and left the campus brooding or the reason for that man’s offer, completely forgetting to notice that no one had come to basketball practice that day._


	2. Prologue Part Two

_The Shadow’s Past_

...

_Prologue Part Two_

 

_**Third Person POV** _

 

_The morning after seeing Marcuil, Kuroko had done everything like usual, forgetting his previous encounter with Marcuil at the time; Kuroko had woken up two hours before school, then tamed his atrocious bed head for one hour, made his solely boiled egg filled breakfast, and then started walking to school. When he reached the Class 1-B classroom, he slid the door open and, on instinct, looked around for his hot-headed light. After scanning the whole room, Kuroko made a tiny sigh._

‘He must have overslept again,’ _Kuroko thought. On that note, Kuroko sat down, and waited for class to begin._

 

**_*~Time skip~*_ **  

 

_School had finally ended, and Kuroko was getting ready to leave for the basketball practice, but seeing the empty desk in front of him rooted him into place._

‘Kagami-kun hasn’t been here all day...could he be sick?’ _Kuroko just left his thought at that, and proceeded to make his way to after-school practice. When he reached the spot where he had met Marcuil however, he paused for a few seconds. Everything that had occurred the previous night came flooding back to him in waves. ‘_ That’s right, last night, Marcuil came to tell me that my time here’s almost up…and then, to stay here longer, I made a deal with his Majesty…, but what reason could **that man** have for allowing me to stay here? Does he have something to show me?’ _Kuroko now had a slightly annoyed expression on his normally stoic face as thoughts swirled around in his head. All of a sudden, he relaxed his previously tense and serious posture. ‘_ I suppose what’s done is done. All I can do now is accept the deal and make the most out of it.’ _Kuroko then proceeded to make his way to the gym, only to find his coach, Aida Riko, outside, not making making any move to open the gym doors at all. This worried the teal-head, so he made his presence known to grab her attention._

_“Ano...Kantoku, is there something wrong?” The coach then turned to face him, with not a single hint of surprise on her face. This slightly startled Kuroko. ‘_ Have I become more noticeable? What’s going on?’ _Kuroko was torn out of his thoughts as she began to speak._

_“Ara, Kuroko-kun, what are you doing here?” She asked a little too sweetly._

_“I am here for practice, Kantoku.” he replied, in his usual monotone, although if one examined closely, one could hear the slight uncertainty and worry that laced his voice._

_“What are you talking about Kuroko-kun? There’s no need to practice. We’ve already won the Winter Cup.” His coach stared at him with questioningly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world that they wouldn’t have practice after the Winter Cup._

_*_ **_CRACK*_ ** _That was the first sign of Kuroko’s previously perfect world coming apart. Kuroko gulped before licking his now suddenly dry lips and opening his mouth to reply._

_“But, Kantoku, didn’t you say that we shouldn’t be happy with just this win? And that we should keep training so that we don’t fall behind? Because Akashi-kun and the rest won’t take this win against them sitting down...they’ll continue improving so we should as well, Kantoku.” Kuroko replied. Hoping, praying, that everything his coach said before was just a joke, and that she would once again force everyone to practice, and the fact that no one was at practice right now was all just a dream…_

_“Kuroko-kun, we’ve already beat them, so why can’t we do it again? Why waste everybody’s energy on practicing, when they can just go have fun?” She asked. However, this time, there was a sort of unearthly gleam in her eyes that ignited Kuroko’s worst fears, and cracked his world even further._

**_*CRACK CRACK*_ ** _There went the second sign, with far more impact and foreboding than the last._

_Then, Kuroko saw it. In his coach’s shadow, there was something there, something, from another world, no,_ **_that man’s_ ** _world. At this, Kuroko was slightly relieved that it was something else that was making his coach this way, but at the same time, he was infuriated that he hadn’t figured out that that was_ **_that man’s_ ** _plan, and also that he didn’t think of the possibility of_ **_him_ ** _using such foul methods just to get him to go back._

_The teal-haired boy gritted his teeth, and said, in a low whisper so that only he could hear, “Kantoku, don’t worry, I’ll get that thing out of you, I promise.” With that, he began to sprint to the school entrance, however, just as he was about to reach it, he collided with something, ore rather, someone. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, and looked up just in time to see Seirin’s Captain, as well as Seirin’s ace._

_“Oi, Kuroko, what’cha doing out so late?” Kagami asked._

_“I just came from practice, but Kantoku said it was cancelled.” The teal-head said, putting his head down once more, pausing, waiting, and hoping for Kagami and his captain’s outburst of things like, ‘_ What!’ _or ‘_ She’s crazy, no practice? I need to go slap some sense into her!’ _or something along those lines, but it never came._

_Instead, what he heard was, “Huh, is that so, well, we already won against the Generation of Miracles, and Kagami and I were gonna go ask her if we could not have practice, but I guess since we all of us had the same idea, it seems we don’t have to go there anymore, right Kagami?” His captain said it just like his coach, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

**_*CRACK CRACK CRACK*_ ** _That was the third sign. His perfect world was almost shattered now. Even if he knew that it was probably just because of something else, it still hurt him to hear those words come out of his respected captain’s mouth, with his captain’s voice and face._

_Kagami, though damaged his soul even more with his response. “Yeah, I agree with you Hyuuga-senpai, we don’t need to be here anymore it seems. So, see ya later Kuroko.”_

**_*CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK*_ ** _That was all Kuroko could take, he didn’t want to be around to hear anymore nonsense come out of his friends’ mouths anymore just because he had refused to follow_ **_that man’s_ ** _original proposition of going back home earlier._

_Kuroko looked up to scan his light’s and captain’s appearance, just to assure himself that it was the doing of those_ **_things_ ** _from_ **_that man’s_ ** _world. He was gifted with that grace when it turned out to be true. Creatures resided in his captain’s and light’s shadows. Kuroko decided to ask one more question to Kagami however, just because he was curious._

_“Kagami-kun, why did you not show up to school today?” He knew asking the question would just hurt him more because of what the creature was forcing his partner and light to say, but he just couldn’t help but ask._

_“Huh? I didn’t show up because I didn’t feel like it that’s all.” Kagami replied haughtily, with the unearthly gleam in his mahogany-colored eyes glowing even brighter._

_“I understand, well then, see you later, Hyuuga-senpai, Kagami-kun.” he replied in monotone, but was internally trying to keep himself from yelling and screaming and crying all at the same time right there for the creatures to leave his friends’ bodies. However, he restrained himself and went on his way to his apartment because he knew how loyal those creatures were to that man and how there was only one way to get rid this nightmare he had traded his freedom to be in._

 

**_*~Time Skip~*_ **

 

_The second Kuroko had gotten home and taken off his shoes, he dropped his bags, locked the door, and yelled._

_“Marcuil! I know you’re there! Where are you! I demand an explanation for what I saw today, and I wish to nullify the contract I made with his Majesty!” after he was done, he was slightly panting, his chest moving up and down in a rhythmic pattern. A black swirling mist appeared in his home a few seconds after his outburst, and sensing that his call for Marcuil had been answered, Kuroko turned towards the mist, which began to take the form of a person._

_“You called for me, Tetsuya-sama?” Marcuil answered innocently, as if knowing nothing of what had transpired throughout the day._

_“Tell me, Marcuil, why have my friends been possesed, did..._ **_that man_ ** _do it?” Kuroko asked coldly and dangerously, with a hint of ice lacing his tone of voice. Had it not been for the fact that he had been brought up to have impeccable manners even when talking with your enemy, and not to hit others first without letting the person explain themsleves, Marcuil would have most definitely been dead the second he appeared, long time acquaintance or not._

_Marcuil, sensing Kuroko’s anger, went straight to the point, as to not possibly incur the young boy’s wrath any further. “Now, Tetsuya-sama, while it was indeed his Majesty who had released those...things, it was just a coincidence that they had decided to attach to your friends.” Marcuil was still loyal to the King, so there was no way he was going to reveal that the King had purposefully set the creatures to go after Kuroko’s friends, even if he don’t want to get Kuroko angry, he was still a loyal servant._

_Kuroko, knowing the man before him for quite some time, and calmkng down a little, as he knew that staying hotheaded in front of this man would just make him fall into one of many trsps, knew that he wasn’t going to get anymore out of him on that matter, so he decided to ask another question._

_“If I nullify the contract now, will my friends be released from those_ **_things_ ** _?” Kuroko asked seriously, in monotone._

_Marcuil, a little disappointed that he couldn’t use Kuroko’s anger against him, smiled deviously and said, “My, my, Tetsuya-sama, have you been gone for so long that you have forgotten that once a deal with his Majesty is made, one can never go back on it, no matter their social status, power, or wealth?” His tone was filled with sarcasm that Kuroko knew all too well._

_Kuroko knew he had to answer immediately, or_ **_that man_ ** _would hear of his possible weakness in forgetting the rules, and therefore, he might have to be put through more training, therefore extending the time that he couldn’t see his friends._

_“Of course I have not forgotten. I was just seeing if any rules had changed in my absence that is all.” Kuroko said in his famous poker face, the one thing he was glad to have learned from_ **_that_ ** _world._

_“I see, that‘s good.” Marcuil smiled evilly. “Well then, you know what that means don’t you, you must stay here until your two weeks is up, and then return home and complete your training.”_

_The only thing Kuroko could reply with was, “Yes, I understand.”_

_For Kuroko’s remaining time in Seirin, Kuroko endured hearing his friends/team saying things like how, ‘_ Practice is a waste of time,’ _and ‘_ We’re too strong for the Generation of Miracles now. I’m sure they’ll be scared of us the next time we meet on court, so what’s the point of practicing?’ _For Kuroko, it felt like his later Teiko years all over again. Even though he knew it was all_ **_that man’s_ ** _doing, he couldn’t help breaking down every night when he got home because of his team’s harsh comments about practice and basketball in general. That’s why, when the day of his departure back to_ **_that_ ** _world arrived, he was relieved._

 

**_*~Present~*_ **  

 

“I know I’m not supposed to feel this way, since I’ll finally be able to return everyone in Seirin back to normal, but, I just really can’t leave that easily after all…” A silent tear rolled down Kuroko’s cheek, as he dropped the basketball he had been holding while he was reminiscing about the previous two weeks.

“Tetsuya-sama,” Marcuil called. At the sound of Marcuil’s voice, Kuroko discretely wiped the tear off of his cheek so that Marcuil wouldn’t know he was crying and report that to his Majesty, which would use that to his advantage. “It’s time to leave.”

“Yes, I understand.” Kuroko stepped out of his room, and into the black abyss, with Marcuil following right after, before the abyss closd, with the only evidence of Kuroko ever being there the lone basketball he got from his first year in Teiko sitting on the floor, unmoving, as early morning rays of sunlight seeped through the curtains and shined down on it, as if it were a gift from the heavens, just as Seirin and the Generation of Miracles thought Kuroko was when they first saw him, with his ethereal teal hair, and eyes that shone with the blue of sky.

At Seirin, creatures invisible to everyone were leaving a certain basketball team’s shadows, and, at the entrance to this said school, we're a group of rainbow-haired teens, 5 boys and 1 girl, all thinking the same thing once they had found that they finally had an opening in their busy schedules that morning.

_‘I’m gonna visit Kurokocchi/Kuroko/Tetsu/Tetsu-kun/Kuro-chin/Tetsuya today.’_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this chapter. Do tell me if it seems to chopped up. It will help me improve my writing for the second arc which I'm currently on. I will be updating all the he chapters of the the first arc toay, but it might take a while since I have to change the formatting and stuff.


	3. Chapter One: Back "Home"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole story will be in Third Person POV, except for this one scene where I attempted to write as Akashi, but most likely didn't end well.

_The Shadow’s Past_

...

_Chapter I: Back “Home”_

 

_Estrelía,_ **_(A/N:Sorry for the name, I couldn’t think of anything else T^T)_ ** a world full of beings that the human race has wished to discover, along with enchanted air that humans would kill to breathe, there were 4 kingdoms, as well as races.

The smallest and lowest caste kingdom went by the name of _Terra,_ named after Earth, as the majority of the residents there either came from Earth, or were descendents of people from Earth. While on Earth, these people were called humans, in _Estrelía,_ they were called _Zenians_ by the other races whom all spoke _Estrelía’s_ language _._ Humans that had learned the _Estrelían_ language had discovered that it came from the root of “ _Zenith_ ” which meant “ _bound to the earth_ ” in their language. Humans in this world, despite the technology that the world had, could never advance as they had on Earth, as they had no affinity with the _spirits,_ which were the dominant power right above physical power, which was seen as only secondary to this. As humans were far weaker in terms of physical power as well when compared to any of the other three races, they were obviously put at the bottom of the social caste. The only reason they were still around was because their intelligence surpassed one of the races, and sometimes they could create some unique things. Due to their large number of weaknesses (in all the other races’ eyes at least), the enchanted Estrelían air could only help extend their lives 2000 years at maximum.

The race right above the humans called their kingdom by the name of _Belua._ Despite its sweet and gentle sounding name, the residents were actually quite the opposite. In Earth terms, the place would basically look like a place full of humans with VERY noticeable animal features. These people were called _Kurians._ The _Kurians_ got their name due to their exceptional physical strength. In the Estrelían language, _Kurians_ came from the root “ _Kuro”_ which meant “ _strength_ ,” as truthfully, that was the only thing they could use to fight back against the other races. Similar to humans, their affinity with _spirits_ wasn’t very high. While it was far better than the humans for whom agginity was nonexistant, it was not good enough to use in battle. Something else that separated _Kurians_ from _Zenians_ besides their physical features and _spirit_ affinity was their ability to transform into the animal that they inherited their “extra” features from, and still retain their humanoid form’s intelligence. Although, only pureblood _Kurians_ can transform, something even the _Kurians_ themselves can’t understand. Non-purebloods were found to have gained animalistic instincts or features, or more physical power than normal people of the other race the _Kurian_ mated with at best. Another reason besides their low affinity with spirits that kept them near the bottom in the social caste was their intelligence. They are what even humans would call, essentially, _morons._ Usually, they take action before actually ever thinking of a plan, making them more predictable. On average, the lifespan of a _Kurian_ would be something around 5000 years. Normally, it would be around 2000 years like the humans, but with their increased physical strength and the few _spirits_ they could get, they lived longer.

The second highest race in the social caste were what humans would call elves. These creatures called their kingdom _Alceles._ The residents of the kingdom were called _Alciens._ They got their name from the root _“Alcel”_ which in the Estrelían language meant _“nature loving”_ They got this name due to their love of the forests and outdoors, which the other races believed was the reason for their high affinity with the _spirits._ This high affinity with the _spirits_ along with their above average intelligence made up for their lack of physical power. And as there was more emphasis on _spirit_ compatibility, they were seen as higher in the social caste. _Alciens_ also tended to live far longer than _Kurians_ or _Zenians._ With help from their _spirits_ , _Alciens_ tended to live around 7000 years.

At the very top of the social caste, was a race that all the others feared and never fought with, due to the races’ immense power. This race called their kingdom by the name of _Meturio._ The race was said to be cold and ruthless, and unfeeling. They were so powerful that inside of their own race, they developed their own power level system, which was foreign to the other races. The race constantly held competitions to, as the emperor says, “To test the people’s strength and create the best warriors possible.” These people had decided to call themselves something very simple; _Shadows_ . As the name implies, they were quite sneaky, and would train their children and successors to learn how to hide themselves, in order to become better fighters. These people had what the other races would consider, well, everything. _Shadow's_ were all born with spirits already contracted with them, already making them extremely powerful at birth. On top of that, they were born with physical strength and intelligence rivaling that of the _Kurians_ and _Alciens,_ respectively _._ None of the races have ever seen _Shadows_ ; just like their name implies, they have remained unseen, hiding in the dark… The only _Shadow_ that people of the other races have seen is the King of _Meturio,_ the ruler of all of the _Shadows._ No one really knows how long _Shadows_ live, but people say that it’s somewhere around 20000 years, since, even after a full 3 generations of an _Alcien_ or _Kurian_ family _,_ the King of the _Shadows_ didn’t change in appearance whatsoever...

Now that the world has been explained, let’s dive into it, shall we?

 

***~Gardens of the** **_Shadow Palace,_ ** **Capital City of** **_Meturio~*_ **

 

Next to the garden fountain, a black abyss suddenly appeared. A person began making his way out, his face covered with a cloak, and his height seeming to be that of a middle schooler’s. The boy began taking a look around, seeming to be scanning everything and trying to adjust himself to the newfound properties in the air. Another figure began to appear right behind the young boy. The new figure, Marcuil, addressed the boy.

“Tetsuya-sama, is there anything wrong?” Marcuil asked with fake concern filling his speech.

The boy internally rolled his eyes at the Marcuil’s fake concern, and removed the hood of his cloak to reveal his soft teal hair and crystal-like sky orbs. “No, nothing is wrong, Marcuil. I just haven’t been here for a while that’s all.” Kuroko replied in monotone.

“Hmm... I see. Very well, I shall leave my concerns at that. Now then, Tetsuya-sama, His Majesty and Her Highness are both expecting you for dinner in 2 hours. We should hurry to your room to get you dressed, no?” Marcuil asked, putting on a smile, that Kuroko knew meant _‘Hurry up so I don’t have to deal with you anymore!’_ Kuroko only replied with a small ‘Yes’ in his practiced monotone. “Alright then, let us be off!” Marcuil said happily, and began walking towards the garden entrance, with Kuroko staying right behind him the whole time. As they were walking to Kuroko’s room, Kuroko was taking the appearance of the castle to acquaint himself with it once again. He’d also noticed that barely anything had changed, with the palaces cream-colored walls, and obsidian-colored flags, providing a sharp and eerie contrast within the castle walls. Kuroko had supposed it was a tatic to instill unease into any visitors, unwanted ones or not. He’d also noticed the passing servants only acknowledging Marcuil and him as well, which would be usual on Earth, but here, he was visible to other shadows at his current level of power. Kuroko then thought, _‘But if I removed my seals, the-’_

“Tetsuya-sama, we’ve arrived.” Marcuil’s statement interrupted Kuroko’s thoughts. He looked at the door that they had arrived at, and sure enough, it was his old one from four years ago. The door looked as if it had just been cleaned, with its teal paint glistening in the late afternoon sunrays. Marcuil then turned the handle, and opened the door to reveal his room, exactly as He’d left it 4 years ago, with papers scattered all over the floor, his bedding disoriented, and the bookshelf missing over half of its books, which he had now just brought back in in his bag.

“Ah, Tetsuya-sama, it seems that you also have some cleaning up to do. Also, His Majesty has installed a spiritually enchanted lock on your window as not to have a repeat of the...incident of your ‘dissapearance’ that His Majesty let slide four years ago. Well then, I will come to get you in an hour, Tetsuya-sama.” With that, Marcuil closed the door with a *bang,* as if Kuroko’s fate had just been sealed.

‘ _Well then, I suppose I should start cleaning and getting ready.’_ Kuroko thought, before immersing himself in cleaning the mess that he created four years ago during his ‘escapade’

 

***~On Earth, Right after Kuroko went into the Portal to** **_Estrelía~*_ **

 

It was a 30 minutes before morning practice was supposed to start when all of a sudden, every member of Seirin’s basketball team, excluding Kuroko of course, woke up in control of their bodies, on their way to school, and curious about how they were up and out of bed without themselves even knowing. All of them checked the time and simultaneously screamed about how they would be late, and things like, ‘Oh no, Coach is going to kill me!’ and ‘Legs, move faster! I don’t want to die yet!’ One particular Tiger was feeling like he could practically taste his death already, as he had been home, and had not yet started to walk to school. So he sped out the door after putting on his uniform, and eating a (suprisingly) light breakfast. When Kagami saw the school entrance come into view, he dashed towards it, not noticing the group of rainbow-haired teenagers walking at a leisurely pace, eventually crashing into a certain dark-blue haired teenager in the group, making both of them end up on the ground, but first.

*OOMPH* “Hey, watch where you’re goin’!” yelled the dark-blue haired boy. The boy said this while rubbing his behind and slightly wincing.

“Sorry, I’m kinda in a rus-” Kagami cut himself off as both he and the boy he buped into looked at each other.

“BAKAGAMI?!/AHOMINE?!” Both of them yelled at the same time. On the sidelines, a blonde was stifling his laughter, only to eventually lost control.

“HA HA HA, So funny, Aominecchi...Kagamicchi...you two are so similar!” That was all the blonde could manage to get out before Aominecchi got up and hit him on the head. This caused the blonde to whine in pain.

“Shut up, Kise! You’re annoying!” Aomine said in obvious fury.

“That hurt~ssu!” Kise said with crocodile tears at the edge of his eyes.

“Daiki, Ryouta.” a cold and dangerous voice sliced through the air. This caused the two forementioned boys to freeze. “Stop right this instant, or I’ll tell your coaches to triple both of your training menus. You two are being far too loud.” The redhead said threateningly.

“I agree with Akashi. Both of you are being irritating-nandayo.” the green head, Midorima, said.

“That’s right, Mine-chin and Kise-chin are being annoying. You’re hurting my ears. I’ll crush you.” The childish giant, Murasakibara, said while opening up a bag of chips.

“Mou, Dai-chan, Ki-chan, Tetsu-kun will be angry that you caused a disturbance outside of his school. Are you alright Kagamin?” a pink haired girl, Momoi, asked, the only one seeming to have concerned he'd self with the tall redheads wellbeing.

Kagami was snapped out of his stupor once Momoi finished speaking. “Oi, what are you Generation of Miracles doing here anyway? Don’t you guys have school or somethin’?”

“Ah, Kagamicchi, could it be that you’re worri-” Kise speech got cut short as he was hit by Kagami school bag.

“No, you idiot, I’m just curious that’s all…” Kagami started off loud, but got softer until the last word was practically inaudible.

“Ryouta, be quiet. Taiga, if you must know, we are here to see Tetsuya, that’s all. And, to answer your other question, I’ve already informed all of their schools that they will be absent today, as I believe that it’s important to check on Tetsuya, who we haven’t had contact with for the past two weeks.” Akashi ended his sentence confidently, as if it was normal for a _kid,_ to inform schools that he or his friends wouldn’t be coming to school that day. And to top it all off, the school _accepted_ that! Kagami was once again reminded of just how scary Akashi Seijurro could be.

"Oi, speaking of Tetsu, where is he Bakagami? Isn’t he always with you?” Aomine asked, as he stood up and dusted off his pants.

“I’m not a Bakagami, Ahomine! And besides, I woke up late today, so I had to rush to get to practice and…” Kagami trailed off as realization hit him and he checked his watch, only to find that he only had one minute to get to the gym, and his eyes became comically wide. “Sh*t! Coach is gonna kill me!” With that, he dashed off, leaving a stunned Generation of Miracles behind. Once he reached the gym doors, he burst through, yelling a ‘I’m here Kantoku!’ before he put his hands on his knees and slightly panted. ‘ _Man, how did that make me so tired? The Winter Cup ended a week ago, but even so, I should still be more fit than this.’_ After that thought he looked up to see that everyone was now staring at him, the only person in the room who hadn’t arrived yet, except Kuroko.

“Oi, Bakagami, go get changed already! I’ll let it slide this time, but next time, get here earlier!” His female (devil) coach said, while giving him a murderous glare. The only thing Kagami could say was a tiny ‘Hai!’ Before dashing off to the changing room. When he came out there were a bunch of murmurs. ‘Hmm? What’s going on?’ He looked at his sempais and fellow freshman only to see them gaping in awe, all looking in one direction. He followed their line of sight, only to find the Generation of Miracles calmly standing by the bleachers as if it was their own gym. Unlike when he bumped into them earlier, now they had a majestic aura. One that said something similar to ‘Bow down before me, I’m superior and you’ll never win’. However, Kagami felt like there was something missing, like there was a gap in their aura right now that wasn’t filled in. Only when Aomine speak did Kagami figure out what the gap was.

“Bakagami, you didn't answer my question about Tetsu. Where is he? It doesn’t look like he’s in here, otherwise he would have greeted us already.” What Aomine said made Kagami and everyone else in Seirin’s team gain an excruciatingly painful headache all of a sudden.

“Nng..” Kagami winced as he felt the loud banging inside his head. “What the hell is that noise?” All of the other members of the team as well as the coach of Seirin were making complaints similar to Kagami’s. The Generation of Miracles were all wearing confused expressikns, except for Akashi, who only narrowed his eyes, as if discovering something that he didn’t like.

“Oi, Bakag-” Aomine started, only to be cut off by another voice.

“Taiga, you don’t know where Tetsuya is do you?” Kagami managed to shake his head despite the headache he was having. Akashi then moved on to as Seirin. The rest of the members also shook their heads in confirmation that they didn’t know where Kuroko had gone.

“What!” Kise exclaimed. “There’s no way Kurokocchi would skip practice!” The blonde’s voice then murmured something, but everyone heard it. “The only time he did that was after the 3rd year Nationals…” After that, there was silence for a few seconds, until Aomine broke it by running up to Kagami and grabbing the collar of his jersey before opening his mouth and yelling.

“YOU! KAGAMI! WHAT DID YOU DO TO TETSU?! YOU BASTARD!” He screamed, before punching Kagami square in the face.

“Atsushi, Shintarou” Akashi whispered so that only the Generation of Miracles still at the bleachers could hear. Murasakibara and Midorima walked towards the screaming Aomine and injured Kagami, with Murasakibara in the lead. Murasakibara then used his free hand (the one without chips) to lift cursing Aomine off the ground, put him on his shoulder, and then carried him back to where the rest of the Generation of Miracles were standing. Midorima then said, “We’re sorry for the fit Aomine had just now, please allow us to settle it in a more civil manner. We will keep him under restraint from now on.” With that, Midorima pushed up his glasses, but before leaving said, “However, if we don’t find your explanation for this satisfactory, we will not hesitate to let either Aomine or Murasakibara at you.” The green head then turned around and walked back to his old team’s spot by the bleachers, leaving a wounded Kagami and a stunned Seirin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, THIS IS NOT GOM/KURO. This chapter kind of portrayed it like that, but it really isn't. It's more of just an overprotective and friendly GOM that I decided should be born after the group realized what they did at Winter Cup.


	4. Chapter Two: Dinner & An Uninvited Guest

_ The Shadow’s Past _

...

_     Chapter II: Dinner and An Uninvited Guest _

 

Kuroko stretched his limbs and looked at the darkly colored clock hanging on his wall, with its pendulum now being the only sound in the room, with its constant and tiny _*tick tock tick tock*_ It was on 2 minutes until the appointed time that Marcuil said he would come at. Kuroko had finished cleaning his room and was now wearing his old military uniform from 4 years ago. The whole of Kuroko’s outfit was black, including his gloves, and shoes. The only splotches of color on his whole outfit were the buttons and epaulets on that rested on both shoulders, with the buttons on the epaulets keeping in place a cape, colored black on the outside, and teal on the inside. Also attached to the epaulets, were golden rope-like fabric, which extended across his uniform’s coat, and stopped at his breast pocket. This overall, gave Kuroko a very refined and menacing appearance. His spirits only enhanced his image, as his  _ spirits _ were known to be at the very top of the  _ spirits _ hierarchy. Kuroko, unlike most  _ Shadows _ , had two  _ spirits.  _ One of his spirits was named  _ Selutria,  _ but was better known as the Queen of the Ice Spirits. While many people could be born with, (or contract with, in the other races’ cases)  _ spirits _ , as there were many of them, it was practically impossible and never heard of for someone to have a Royal  _ spirit _ . Many knew they existed, as the other  _ spirits  _ often talked about their Queen and Kings, but having one contracted to somebody was unheard of. This caused Kuroko to be feared by many when people heard of his birth, and which  _ spirit _ the teal-haired infant was contracted with. Not many people knew, but Kuroko did have a second  _ spirit _ . Many people believed the rumor about Kuroko having about second  _ spirit  _ was made up just to scare others, but the few very close to Kuroko could confirm that it was indeed true that he was contracted to a second one. His second spirit was a Shadow  _ spirit _ . The Shadow  _ spirits _ were small in number, but extremely powerful individually. While the race, the  _ Shadows _ , indeed called themselves that, they never had actually attained Shadow  _ spirits  _ before. Shadow  _ spirits _ were special because their powers were more directly attached to living things, as even the best of the Water  _ spirits _ , couldn’t control anything to do with a living thing’s body, even though there was water in it. Shadow  _ spirits _ , however, can manipulate the shadow of any living or nonliving thing, therefore making them more powerful than any other spirit. The people and creatures who actually knew of their existence believed that this was the reason that their numbers were so small and limited, since these people believed that nature might have wanted to make it more fair for everyone else by making less of the Shadow  _ spirits _ . When someone first learns about the existence of Shadow _ spirits, _ he/she tends to mistaken a Dark  _ spirit  _ for a Shadow  _ spirit.  _ The Dark _ spirits,  _ however _ ,  _ always correct him/her so that the expectations people have for them don’t raise dramatically. Kuroko’s second  _ spirit _ was named  _ Skodai. Skodai  _ was the Prince of tye Shadow  _ spirits _ . The Shadow  _ spirits _ were given titles based on their power levels, so even among the Shadow spirits, Skodai was extremely powerful. Since the people around Kuroko deemed it would be too much for everyone to take in if they learned that Kuroko had a Shadow  _ spirit _ , not to mention a Prince Shadow  _ spirit, _ along with Selutria, a Queen Ice  _ Spirit _ , they told Kuroko that he was forbidden from letting anyone know of Skodai’s existence. As a result, Kuroko could only let Selutria remain visible to the naked eye. Now, with only Selutria visible, Kuroko began to stand up.

All of a sudden, the clock began to chime its eerie melody. Kuroko then shifted his view to the teal painted doors.

_‘Marcuil should be here soon..’_ Right after Kuroko finished that thought, there was a knock on the door. 

“Tetsuya-sama, His Majesty wishes to inform you that dinner is ready and that he prefers that you arrive soon, as he has something important that he wishes to discuss with you.” Marcuil said this through the door, and then became silent, before Kuroko heard the sound of Marcuil’s footsteps, walking away from his door. Though, just to confirm that Marcuil was indeed gone, Kuroko decided to ask Selutria and Skodai, who was hiding in his shadow, with Kuroko making sure to constantly hide Skodai’s presence from the rest of the world, with Skodai also helping, just so that Kuroko wouldn’t have to do that much work.

“Selutria,” he began. The mentioned Queen Ice  _ spirit  _ turned her head towards him in a regal manner. “Has Marcuil left yet?” Selutria then turned he head to the door, and stared at it for a few seconds, before answer telepathically.

“Yes, Tetsuya-kun, the man has left.” Selutria answered with her melodious voice that rang like the bells on Christmas Eve. Even though Selutria was contracted to Kuroko, and many saw contracts with  _ spirits _ as being the master of them, a Royal one or not, Kuroko felt that since both she and Skodai were royalty, both should be treated as such, and therefore not be forced (more like not allowed in Kuroko’s opinion) to call Kuroko with phrases such as ‘-sama’ or ‘Master’. Next, Kuroko asked Skodai.

“Skodai, do you also believe that he has left?” 

A figure slowly emerged up to its waist from Kuroko’s shadow, and answered in a tone that spoke of many years of battle experience, “Yes, he has Kuroko.”

“I see, well then, shall we go?” Kuroko asked, and saw both of his spirits nod. He smiled, and opened his bedroom door, and began making his way to to the dining hall.

 

***~At the Dining Hall~***

 

Kuroko opened up the massive doors to dining room he had eaten in 4 years ago, and took a look around. The first thing he saw was the kind eyes of the Queen, the menacing eyes of the King, and what he assumed to be a nobleman sitting at the table on the seat to the right of the King, who was sitting at the head of the table along with the Queen. 

“Tetsuya,” the King spoke in a demon-like tone, making the nobleman next to him slightly flinch, but drawing no reaction from Kuroko as the teal-head’s stoic mask stayed in place, not slipping off in the slightest. Kuroko’s lack of reaction caused a slight smirk to appear on the King’s face. “Good, it seems like you haven’t lost your touch as much as I thought that you would have. Come, sit down.” Kuroko went to sit down in his old spot. On the way there, he made sure to walk with the elegance and pride of a battle-honed warrior, which he could now do, instead of being forced to to try and walk ‘normally’ like he had to on Earth. The nobleman seemed to stare at him in silent awe, while the King was examining the boy for any possible weak points that he could point out. When he arrived at his seat without any mistakes in his arrival to be seen, the Queen secretly gave him one of her sweet and reassuring smiles, which was rare. It was as if she was saying ‘ _Good job, there was nothing to correct.’_ Kuroko then, also let a small smile grace his features, before quickly replacing it with his stoic mask once more as he saw the King begin turning towards him. Throughout the meal, it was silent, with the King constantly staring at Kuroko to look for any imperfections in his etiquette. 

Meanwhile, Kuroko was thinking about how all of this, from the King’s scrutinizing, to Marcuil’s role as a messenger between him and the King, used to be normal. Once Kuroko was finished, he waited for the King to excuse him, but then remembered the nobleman who was sitting across him. Kuroko thought, ‘ _If that nobleman was invited to dinner, it means that this isn’t some normal business meeting, because otherwise, it would have been scheduled after the meal.’_ Kuroko then began to think of reasons of why the nobleman would be present, but after a full 2 minutes of thinking about possible reasons, he decided to just wait and see what the King would do, since if he spent any longer thinking, he knew the King would reprimand him for it. 

“Tetsuya, meet 2nd Lord Mayazumi.” The King suddenly said. Kuroko looked to the man across him, now known as the 2nd Lord of the Kingdom. Kuroko was slightly shocked, as not only had he met a boy name Mayazumi Chihiro on Earth who also had the ability to use misdirection, but the boy was most likely the man in front of him’s son! 

Then, Kuroko suddenly remembered his environment, and began to introduce himself, with his poker face still remaining intact. “Nice to meet you, Lord Mayazumi. I am Kuroko Tetsuya, Commander of the Royal Army.” The 2nd Lord seemed slightly shocked, most likely about Kuroko’s rank, as Kuroko don’t look like he could even be in the military, not to mention being in the highest post, Commander of the whole Royal Army. ( **A/N: I know Major is the highest position in the army, but I’m making it Commander here because I don’t think that ‘Major of the Royal Army’ sounds as cool as ‘Commander of the Royal Army’)**

The King then grabbed everyone’s attention as he began to speak. “Now that the introductions have been finished, I believe that Lord Mayazumi here had a proposal for you, Tetsuya.” Kuroko then turned his attention to the gray-haired man before him. 

“Kuroko-sama,” Kuroko inwardly cringed at the EXTREMELY formal honorific, “It has come to my attention that many years ago, you captured my daughter’s...attention,” Kuroko began to have a large headache all of a sudden. “As I wish to make my daughter happy, I asked his Majesty if he old be willing to help me do so.” Kuroko’s headache only grew as the conversation went on. The King began to state his answer to the 2nd Lord’s request in an almost gleeful manner.

“I accepted of course.” The King now had on a devious smile that Kuroko saw from his peripherals, despite his aching brain. Lord Mayuzumi didn’t, as he was too focused on telling Kuroko about his ‘proposal’ “So, Kuroko-sama, his Majesty suggested that we give the two of you a...bond to have.” 

Before Lord Mayuzumi could say any more, the King broke the ice by saying, with his eyes glinting in sadistic glee, “So, now, you and Lord Mayuzumi’s daughter are officially engaged!” Kuroko’s headache disappeared as the teal-head heard those fateful words.

 

***~On Earth, Seirin~***

 

After Aomine’s outburst, and Midorima’s sudden change of personality, Seirin were afraid to move or even speak, before Akashi broke the silence, by saying, “So, what are your explanations for Tetsuya’s sudden disappearance?” While he asked this in monotone, everyone there could here the hidden threat that they heard Midorima just give being true in his voice. 

Kagami, the only one with enough courage to speak, began, “Kuro-” However, he was suddenly cut off by the gym door opening. In the doorway stood Takao Kazunari of Shuutoku, Mayuzumi Chihiro of Rakuzan, and an unknown black-haired man in a butler suit, all three wearing very serious faces, even Takao, which made everyone slightly concerned. Suddenly, the unknown man began to speak, making everyone’s attention go towards him. 

“Generation of Miracles, I ask you, would you like to find the boy named Kuroko Tetsuya?” 


	5. Chapter Three: Estrelía

_ The Shadow’s Past _

...

_ Chapter III: Estrelía  _

 

“Generation of Miracles, I ask you, would you like to find the boy named Kuroko Tetsuya?” The man’s statement slightly stunned all of the people present. Akashi, the ever composed one, answered first for everybody.

“Who are you, and how do you know where Tetsuya is?” Before the butler looking man could answer however, Mayuzumi spoke first, his voice echoing throughout the gym.

“Akashi,” he started, “This man is an important servant of His Majesty.” Mayuzumi then paused, and waited for everyone to absorb the information.

“And, what does this have to do with Tetsu?” Aomine, surprisingly, asked dubiously, now having calmed down with Momoi’s help.

“It means that Kuroko is most likely in another country.” Midorima said in a matter-of-factly tone.

“~Eh~, but, doesn’t that mean that Seirin chased Kuro-chin away?” Murasakibara said in a lazy tone, but there was a hint of anger in his tone. This caused Seirin to inch away from the Generation of Miracles slowly, both from guilt and fear. Riko however, decided to make one last stand for her team in an attempt to remedy the situation.

“But, we didn’t do anything to Kuroko-kun, we swear!” The rest of the team, now believing that the situation couldn’t get any worse, decided to stand up for themselves as well.

“Yes, we would never purposefully hurt Kuroko.” Teppei started, wearing a strained smile, unlike his usually goofy one, showing how serious he knew the situation was. His statements were followed by loud and constant affirmations from the rest of the basketball team. Seen only by Takao, Mayuzumi, and Akashi, the only people paying attention to the butler, was a devious smile that graced the man’s lips, one both Mayuzumi and Kuroko knew too well. When the man noticed Akashi’s stare, he returned his expression to one of nonchalance, and began speaking, although there was a slight giddiness in his voice.

“Yes, of course, you would never hurt Kuroko Tetsuya  **_purposefully_ ** …” the man paused for effect. “However,” he began once again, “if one was being controlled..” the man allowed the sentence to hang in the air. Mayuzumi and Takao seemed to be the only two who caught on to what that meant fully, as both of their eyes widened considerably. Takao was the first to speak.

“You didn’t…” Takao voice was filled with shock and horror, as the words died on his lips. 

“Takao?” Midorima questioned. However, the usually bubbly teenager remained quiet, which slightly irritated the Oha Asa obsessed miracle. Midorima began to take a step towards his hawk-eyed friend. “Taka-” He was cut off by Akashi, who raised his arm to block his path, effectively making Midorima clamp his mouth shut and step back. After seeing that Midorima had received his message, Akashi turned to to look at Mayuzumi.

“Chihiro, explain” Akashi stated, with slight confusion present in his usually all-knowing eyes.

“First, let me start off with this man’s name.” Mayuzumi started. Everyone turned their heads to look at the mysterious butler-like man. “His name is Marcuil.  **The long-time royal butler of the King of** **_Meturio._ ** ” The last sentence was in the Estrelían language, causing effective confusion for everyone listening excluding the Generation of Miracles and Momoi.

“ **_Meturio?_ ** _ ”  _ Kise said in the  _ Estrelían  _ language before effectively covering his mouth in shock at how strange the word sounded, but yet also how natural it had felt. The rest of the Generation of Miracles and Momoi were also shocked at Kise’s words, though they were more shocked about how they themselves could understand the language.

“ **Oh...well, it seems that these people can understand it. Well, that explains why the boy felt such a deep connection with them.”** The man, now known as Marcuil said, before Mayuzumi began speaking once again, this time in Japanese.

“Yes,  _ Meturio _ . It’s one of the four kingdoms of  _ Estrelía, _ where Kuroko is. Now the question is, Generation of Miracles, do you wish to go there.” Before even Akashi could open his mouth to reply, Kagami burst out.

“Oi! Why can’t I go too? Why only those jerks? I’m Kuroko’s friend too!” The rest of Seirin also began to protest, until Marcuil silenced them by speaking.

“Be quiet, all of you. The only reason I’m offering even some of you fools a trip to our noble  _ Estrelía  _ is because some of you are half  _ Estrelían _ , and besides, I decided to be kind enough to let you fools see Kuroko Tetsuya in all of his glory.” This caused silence to wash over the gym, before, once again, Akashi broke the silence with his questions.

“Half- _ Estrelían? _ What are you talking about?” Akashi was once again confused, just against the rest of the group was. 

“Fools, do I really have to explain this to all of you?” Marcuil put his gloved hand to his forehead, as if having to teach a group of children the same thing over and over again. “Very well then, now listen. This group of rainbow-haired children, are Half _ -Estrelían,  _ as in, one of their parents come from our world, and therefore, they are more likely to survive. If anyone was to go and meet Kuroko Tetsuya, it should be people who have a higher chance for survival.” Marcuil then let out a sigh, as if he had just given out a speech in front the world. He then turned to Kagami. “As for you, Kagami Taiga,” Kagami slightly flinched of the full use of his name, “I can’t take you as you are too weak, and also don’t have a strong enough bond with Kuroko Tetsuya, which was proven through your vulnerability to those...creatures.” Kagami began to protest and ask about the ‘creatures’ but remained ignored, as Marcuil asked the Generation of Miracles the same question he had been asking the whole time. “Once again, I ask you, Generation of Miracles, do you wish to see Kuroko Tetsuya?”

Akashi, suspicious of the man in front of him asked, “How do we know if we can trust you?” Mayuzumi who had remained silent throughout Marcuil’s explanation, now answered for him.

“Akashi, you can trust him, he is telling the truth. Both Takao and I can attest to to that fact, as we come from that world ourselves.” Akashi turned to Takao.

“Kazunari?” Akashi’s voice made the hawk-eye look up. 

“It’s true, I came from there myself after all…” Takao seemed very sad when he said that, which both and Akashi and Midorima noted.

“Very well then. Do you have any other proof that this place truly exists?” At Akashi’s question, Marcuil smirked.

“Yes, I do. In fact, I’ll show you all right now.” As soon as Marcuil uttered those words, he snapped his fingers, and a black abyss appeared right behind him. “See, this here I'd the portal there. Now, do the six of you along with these two,” he indicated to Takao and Mayuzumi, “Wish to enter and find Kuroko Tetsuya?” Aomine was the first to proceed. He ran straight for the portal, and went in, with and scolding Momoi following in after him. Akashi, (slightly) shocked at Aomine’s sudden decision, only turned to rest of the group and gave them and nod, signaling that they were all to go. Kise moved the first out of the group. He approached the abyss carefully, and poked at it, only to get completely sucked in. This made the rest of the group stare at Marcuil dubiously. “Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. I promise. I’ll go in in now just to prove it.” With that, Marcuil entered, but before completely disappearing into the darkness, he said, “ **Sleep.** ” A purple glow illuminated from his palms, and the remaining Generation of Miracles heard ‘thuds’ behind them. Akashi and Midorima both turned around, only to find all of Seirin and Kagami sleeping peacefully on the floor. 

“Akashi?” Midorima questioned, asking his old captain what they should do.

“Leave them. Tetsuya is more important as of right now, and besides, they don’t seem injured. Akashi spared a glance at Seirin’s sleeping basketball team before stepping into the abyss and letting it absorb him fully. Murasakibara, Takao, and Mayuzumi followed suit, leaving only Midorima inside the gym with the rest of Seirin’s team. Midorima sighed.

_‘Oha Asa said Cancers would have and hectic day today, but I never thought it would end up like this.’_ Those were his last thoughts before he was pulled into complete darkness.

 

***~** **_Estrelía_ ** **~***

 

A black abyss opened up in an alley in between two modern looking buildings. Marcuil came out first, looking completely unruffled. Next came Takao and Mayuzumi, both also looking completely undisturbed by anything. Finally, the Generation of Miracles and Momoi all came out one by one, each looking a little sick. Aomine was the first to voice his protest.

“What the hell was that?” Marcuil seemed to ponder on how to answer for a few seconds.

“It was transportation of course.” Marcuil decided to go with the obvious, effectively angering the dark-blue haired teenager. 

“You bastard...you know that isn’t what I meant!” Aomine then made a move to go and punch Marcuil, but both Momoi and Takao sensed the imminent danger, although both for different reasons. 

“D-Dai-chan, it’s okay, There’s no need to get angry. We all got here safe and sound, and that’s what matters right?” Momoi said quickly, while clutching onto Aomine’s arm so that he wouldn’t get any closer to Marcuil. ‘If Dai-chan hits him, well probably get in big trouble with the King for getting his butler in the hospital!’ Momoi thought frantically.

“Yeah, Aomine, no need to get so worked up over a joke right?” Takao laughed nervously afterwards, trying to keep the atmosphere peppy and upbeat. ‘If Marcuil gets his hands on Aomine, he’ll most likely die!’ Takao thought, worrying about Aomine’s safety.

“Well, I hope you all realize that you are all in an unfamiliar world, with no achievements here to speak of, and with no power to protect yourselves from the dangers that reside here.” This caused the group to fall into an eerie silence. “As of right now, I could kill you all easily.” Marcuil’s tone sent a shiver down everyone’s spine, expect for Akashi, whos eyes only narrowed, with his body slightly flinching at the words spoken. Seconds later, the cold and intimidating air lessened, and everyone slightly relaxed. “However, as his Majesty does not wish for you all to be disposed of, I shall let it slide this time...but next time, just let me warn you, his Majesty’s wish or not, I don’t mind having to take a punishment for damaging you all a little.” As he said those words, he glared at the group, and his usually dull gray orbs were glowing, whose effects were only enhanced by the orange hue gracing the sky. After that Marcuil disappeared, leaving everyone frozen and dumbfounded for a few seconds. Kise was the first to react. 

“Wait, did...Marcuil-san just...ditch us-ssu?” That appeared to snap everyone out of their stupor before Akashi turned expectantly towards Mayuzumi and Takao, who were now standing together.

“I believe not Ryouta, as he most likely knew that these two would take us somewhere as this is their homeland is it not?” Akashi’s statement made curious eyes turn to the two boys, one with an ever stoic face, while the other was sweating bullets. 

“Yes Akashi, you are correct in your statement. However, I do not know which kingdom he has dropped us off in. Definitely not  _ Meturio, _ as I am not familiar with this place.” This caused wide eyes all around. The first one to panic was Kise. 

“EEHHHH?!?! What are we going to do-ssu! WE’RE LOST! Are we going to die here-ssu? What if we don’t get enough food, or what if someone finds us and kidn-” Kise’s rants were stopped by Aomine’s fist hitting his head. HARD. 

“Shut up, Kise, you’re not helping anybody with your panicking.” Aomine said intelligently. This caused gasps from the whole group, minus Mayuzumi, Akashi, and Murasakibara, who was too busy with his snacks to bother to gasp, although all three were still surprised. Momoi was the first to speak. 

“Dai-chan! I’m so proud of you! You finally used your brain for something!” Momoi said as she began to weep, in absolute joy of Aomine finally saying something intelligent.

“Oi! Satsuki, I can say some-” Aomine was cut off by the rest of the GOM making their respective comments, besides Kise, who was now knocked out.

“Indeed, congratulations Aomine. You might just pass high school if you keep this up.” Midorima said seriously.

“~Eh~, Mine-chin, good job.” Murasakibara said, his tone as mundane sounding as ever.

“Good job Daiki. I commend you for using your brain at least once in your lifetime.” Akashi said in an approving manner.

“Oi! Akashi! What was with that las-” Aomine started to retort, only to be cut off by Akashi’s glare. After shutting up the tan blue-haired teenager. Akashi directed his attention to Takao, the other person who had supposedly lived here. Takao, noticing Akashi’s stare, began to respond.

“I know this place, so don’t worry. Although, I’m surprised you haven’t been here Mayuzumi-senpai. Do you not travel at all?” Takao turned towards his gray-haired senpai standing next to him, awaiting a reply.

“My parents never let me leave the kingdom. That’s all.” Mayuzumi answered nonchalantly. Takao seemed slightly surprised, but only muttered something along the lines of “That’s only to expected huh..” Before turning back to Akashi to inform them of their whereabouts.”

“Currently we’re in the  _ Shadow’s  _ Kingdom, but at the very edge. In one of those ‘unknown’ towns on the map.” With that, all of them followed Takao as he began moving towards a building in the distance, with an orange light peeking out under the door, and a sign overhead that all of them automatically translated into ‘Inn’ inside of their heads unconsciously. As soon as they entered, they were met with the chaos of the night.   
  



	6. Chapter Four: Reflections & Past Revelations

_The Shadow’s Past_

...

_Chapter IV: Reflections and Past Revelations_

 

***~Kuroko’s room, after dinner~***

 

Kuroko was now in his room, staring up at his bed’s canopy, reflecting on the news he had received earlier during dinner.

 

_Flashback:_

 

_“A fiancé…Your Majesty?” After hearing about his engagement, the words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. The King, relishing in the fact that he was able to draw such a reaction from the ever stoic boy, responded to Kuroko’s question._

_“Yes, her name is Mayuzumi Atsune. She’s the same age as you, Kuroko.”_

_“Commander, I know that this is very sudden, but please, at least, think about it.” Lord Mayuzumi bowed lowly, with his shaking hands resting under the table, on his knees unnoticed by everyone except for Kuroko and the King. Kuroko seeing the man’s fear, decided to make the blow easier for the Lord._

_“I understand. Please allow me some time to   Jpg think about it before I meet her.” Kuroko said with a slight smile, before standing up and bowing to the King and Queen,“Your Majesties, if you’ll excuse me.” After the King gave a slight nod of his head while wearing a fake smile that portrayed one of understanding, Kuroko stood up straight and walked away from the now silent room, letting the door close behind him, separating him from a lord, a queen, and a man many considered a devil._

 

_Flashback End_

 

“A fiancé…” The words felt foreign to him as they rolled off his tongue. Kuroko’s thoughts were a mess. He couldn’t believe that he was supposed to get married, and to someone he didn’t even know, not to mention love. But, he also knew that this was part of the King’s plan, and that refusing would mean someone else would get hurt. Someone he deeply cared about…

The image of a red head donning Rakuzan’s uniform flashed in his mind. Kurosawa was startled as he sat up hurriedly, face unnaturally flushed. Selutria and Skodai were both startled out of their nap by Kuroko’s sudden movement.

“Tetsuya-kun?” Selutria asked, voice filled with concern as her ice-colored orbs looked his way. She noticed his flushed face and began worrying. “Do you have a fever, Tetsuya-kun? Do you want me to lower the temperature here?” As she said this, a small bluish became visible at her fingertips, plunging the temperature in the room to one far colder, as some frost began to form at the corners of the boy’s room. Skodai, feeling the cold air, decided to intervene.

“Selutria, Kuroko's is fine, he just thought of something.” Since Skodai was inside of Kuroko’s shadow, he could feel slight fluctuations in Kuroko’s mood, but only slightly. Ad he had felt a large amount of embarrassment coming from the usually very controlled character, he had deduced that it had something to do with love. But as he knew how oblivious Kuroko's was when he came to these things, and how hyperactive Selutria could get when it involved love, despite the female spirit’s usually composed demeanor, he had decided to save Kuroko from freezing to death just because he was freaking out over a love interest. “So, Selutria, you should stop before you freeze Kuroko to death. At that comment, Selutria had turned around to face Kuroko once ,more, only to see him on the verge of chattering his teeth. She quickly dismissed the cold winds, and began apologizing to Kuroko.

“I apologize Tetsuya-kun, for my rash actions. Will you please forgive me.” Now back to her normally polite and regal self, which had disappeared during her panic, she bowed her head while waiting for Kuroko’s reply.

“Please raise your head, Selutria.” Kuroko said in a comforting tone. Selutria raised her head, and stared up at her contracter. “ You did nothing wrong that warranted you bowing your head to me, so please don’t,” Kuroko said, while giving her one of his rare smiles, no hint of the blush that had turned his face scarlet earlier present. At that, Selutria’s eyes lit up like those of a child and let out a full blown smile,letting out the childish personality that she used to have before having to act like the queen she is now, and nodded, before disappearing back into the _spirits_ realm for her nap, along with Skodai, who was smiling the whole time. After both of them had returned back to the _spirits_ world, Kuroko looked out of his window, and saw the rose garden.

_‘I suppose it wouldn't count as leaving the castle if I just went out to the garden right.’_ Kuroko thought to himself before getting up and exiting his room, walking down the hallways of the castle, until he reached the door to the greenery he had just decided to visit. As he opened the door, the fresh scent of roses filled his senses, along without hint of magic, which he assumed must have been done by the earth _spirits_ that the King must have ordered to take care of the roses. He began walking around, until he arrived at the center of the garden, which had a gazebo and a fountain, with rose bushes encircling the area. As he sat down, Kuroko spotted one particular bush which intrigued him. The bush was different from the rest, with none of the roses matching each other. The bush was filled with roses the colors of the rainbow, excluding orange. ‘It must be a slight mistake with the magic, but even so, it’s beautiful’ Kuroko thought, as the King’s rose bushes were magically fertilized to grow roses that would last quite literally, forever. However, most of the time, the roses would be paired by color, but this one hadn’t it had just made mix colored flowers. As Kuroko examined the roses, he found himself reminded of his friends on Earth, the Generation of Miracles. His eyes softened as his eyes took in every intricate details of each flower, from the way it's petals curved, to the greeness of the stems, and the sharpness of the thorns. His eyes first went to the lightly violet colored flower, large and in full bloom, and seemed to shade some of the other roses away from a person’s view at some angles, as if protecting them, just like the GOM’s and Yosen’s titan Murasakibara Atsushi. Kuroko then moved on the the forest green shaded one. Despite how strange it looked, it gave off an air of uniqueness, like it’s its own kind, which is in a way, how Kuroko saw the miracle shooter of the GOM and Shuutoku, Midorima Shintarou. Next he saw a dark blue rose, with its petals no pt in the normal teardrop shape, but instead, one where the circular end of the petal was instead pointed ends, giving it a wild and feral look, much like Aomine Daiki, the GOM’s and Touou’s ace. The fourth flower Kuroko saw was a blinding gold, shimmering with dewdrops, making it appear as a dazzling beauty that blinded others, similar to the GOM’s and Kajou’s copycat, Kise Ryouta. The final rose, while a bit smaller than the rest, was no less magnificent, colored a fierce scarlet, with a hint of gold at the pointy ends of the rose petals. It’s absolute perfection in Kuroko’s eyes reminded him of Akashi Seijurro, the GOM’s and Rakuzan’s captain. The thought of the red-head made Kuroko unconsciously smile, before he remembered what he had thought about the red-head earlier, making him blush furiously, and quickly avert his eyes away from the roses, before turning away, and continuing his leisurely walk in the garden, but was constantly lost in his thoughts of his friends the whole time.

 

***~The Inn, Shadow Country Outskirts ??? Town~***

 

Once all of them had filed into the inn, all were frozen in shock at the sight before them, even Mayuzumi, who had never traveled around before. None of them could move, until Takao called to them, snapping them out of their stupor.

“Hello? You guys, have you never been to a public place before?” Takao asked, with the disbelief and question clearly present in his eyes. Midorima was the first one to respond.

“Of course not Takao. It’s just that the people here look a bit weird..” Midorima muttered the last part, so that only he could hear it. Takao nodded once before beginning to walk off.

“Okay, I’m gonna go and find out more about where we are. You guys just stay put.” Takao said, before asking the bartender something before the two walked to the back, leaving the rest of them alone near the counter. Akashi decided that now was a good time to get answers as any.

"Chihiro, now, will you please explain more clearly what’s going on?” Everyone, as if just remembering the reason they came here, looked towards Mayuzumi, expecting answers.

Mayuzumi just replied with, “Very well. This place is known as _Estrelía,_ and Takao’s and my homeland. It also appears to be Kuroko’s as he is here, based on what Marcuil said.”

“And why should we trust that bastard?” Aomine said, clearly holding a grudge against said man.

“As I’ve said, that guy isn’t someone who would get his information wrong. And as the King’s butler, there’s no way that that guy would go out of his way for someone insignificant. That means that Kuroko is important enough to warrant bringing you, the GOM here.” This caused all of the GOM and Momoi to fall silent, all of them processing it in their minds. Momoi was the first to speak, voicing her idea out, one that Akashi had made as well, but Momoi had beat him to it.

“So, Tetsu-kun is someone of the upper society then, right?” She asked, waiting patiently as everyone stopped contemplating and looked towards Mayuzumi once more.

“I would assume so yes, since, otherwise, there’s no way that Marcuil would know him.” Mayuzumi said. Akashi, being the most cunning and observant of the group made another deduction.

“Are you as well then Chihiro, since you seem to know the man’s habits well enough to trust him?” Everyone grew wide-eyed as they processed Akashi’s statement.

“As expected of you Akashi, you figured it out pretty fast.” Mayuzumi said, with no shock on his face whatsoever, only his deadpan expression, with a slightly devious smile on his lips. At that moment, Takao came back.

“Hey guys! What’s so shocking? Come on, I got the Inn owner to tell us a few things.” Takao began walking off, with a slight rhythm and bounce in his steps. Everyone began trailing after Takao, who was leading them behind the bar counter, and into a separate room. When they opened the door to the room, they saw the typical office room, full of everything from modern day times. From the computer on the desk, to the security cameras barely visible in the corners of the room, everything was what they would consider normal, which is something they found unexpected, as everything they had experienced in this world was anything but. The man sitting on the desk was eyeing them suspiciously, as if wondering if these were really the people he was supposed to meet.

**“Takao, as these people really related to that boy?”** The man asked in the _Estrelían_ language, catching everyone off guard, except for Mayuzumi and Takao, who were used to speaking the language. Takao grinned before replying.

“ **Yeah, since Marcuil let them in, and plus, they wouldn’t be able to survive, if they didn’t at least remain around** **_him_ ** **right? Also, they do understand what we’re talking about, so could you please switch to Japanese? It’s rude to keep them out of the conversation.”** The man was shocked at what Takao just said and gave a scrutinizing gaze to the GOM and Momoi once more. Then, he began to speak, this time, in Japanese.

“So, all you can understand can you?” All of them nodded, even Akashi. The man chuckled. “Is that so? So then, I’m assuming that you guys are least halves. So what are you?” Before any of them could reply, Takao did for them.

“They’re halves.” Takao paused, “All of them.” This made the man’s eyes grow slightly wide, effectively confusing the GOM and Momoi, as why should the man be surprised? He assumed that first, didn’t he?

“I see. I didn’t think that you could really all be halves. And all in the same generation and year no less! Hahaha…” The man’s laughter died down. Then, he began to speak once more, “ By the way, I’m the owner of this Inn, as I’m sure Takao here has told you. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to call me Owner, as my name was taken from me long ago, so long ago, that I have forgotten it. Since Takao here has requested that I tell you all the information you wish to have on _that_ person, I suppose that, for his sake, I shall. He has helped me out numerous times after all.” Everyone looked at Takao, who only shied away sheepishly, embarrassed by the praise he received. “The boy you are looking for, no, _that person_ that you are looking for is, I’m afraid, impossible for you all to find as of right now.” Everyone was speechless. Aomine opened his mouth to most likely curse at the man and demand answers, before he was cut off by the man continuing. “I’m sure all of you are wondering why, but, unfortunately,the only thing I can tell you is that he is not a person to be trifled with. Even if you are his friends, and wish to find him, the only way would be to get someone from the higher echelons to help you even just see him. The man he works under is unforgiving, and someone people wouldn’t want to anger. You should all be glad that Takao here,” he gestured towards the raven-head, “decided to gather information from me first, and not some other town, since even mentioning searching for that person in any place in society would either get you executed, or put in jail, on the accusation of trying to assassinate the boy. People wouldn’t even bother to listen to your reasons because you’re all _halves_.” He emphasized that part, making it seem like the most important thing right now. Aomine was the first to burst, unsurprisingly.

“And why does that matter huh? If we want to see our friend, it doesn’t matter, nothing will stop us.” This made the man slightly gape in shock at what he had just heard Aomine say.

“You’re friends with him…? I’m afraid, that that’s even worse. I’m warning you guys of this now, so you  all don't make foolish decisions in the future, but, they’ll put you in jail just for being friends will him since you guys are only ‘halves’. In this society, it’s unfortunate, but halves are looked down upon severely. You guys aren’t even half _Shadows._ Going into the _Shadow_ Kingdom, which **_hates_ ** outsiders, and not even being a pureblood of another race, is worse than suicide itself!” This confused the group greatly.

“Kazunari, explain.” Akashi demanded, tired of all these things he didn’t know. Takao gulped, and opened his mouth, before Mayuzumi decided that it was a good time to speak.

“Akashi, you all aren’t _Shadows_ , if my judgement is correct, you, Momoi and Midorima are all half-humans and half- _Alciens_ , which I guessed based off of your guy's high intellects. Aomine, and Murasakibara on the other hand, are half-human and half- _Kurians_ , which would be explained by their inhuman strength, agility, and in Aomine’s case, animalistic instincts. Finally, Kise, I believe, based on my observations so far, is half-human, quarter- _Zurian,_ and quarter _-Alcien_ . All of this would be explained by the fact that he is still far more powerful than humans, but not as strong as either Aomine or Murasakibara, but he is also smarter and more handsome than the normal _Zurian,_ and both traits of his level for both his beauty and his decent intellect, can only be inherited from _Alciens_ , not humans” Mayuzumi concluded. This new discoveries about themselves left the group in shock, not knowing what to say, and remaining frozen in place.

“See, your traits aren’t even part _Shadow_. However, if you really want to find him, I suggest you find Takao’s sister. Takao’s family is the 8th Lord family, and have enough influence to get you to meet that boy, but also aren’t important enough to be scrutinized if they bring some extra guests somewhere important, as long as you guys don’t destroy their reputation in front of that boy’s superior. Now, that’s all I can say. I suggest you stay here for tonight. I will accommodate you all, but you must leave early in the morning, before anyone sees you.” Takao nodded for the group, who were still in a slight daze due to the news that they received their heritage. Once they were all guided to their rooms, with the GOM in one large one, and Takao and Mayuzumi in another one, the GOM snapped out of their dazes, and began getting ready for bed, with all of them automatically choosing the beds as they had when they used to go on training camps back in Teiko. Once their bed preparations were finished, they all found it hard to sleep because of the revelations they just received about their true heritages, but, due to the long day they had, they all eventually succumbed to their tired bodies’ needs, and fell asleep. The last one to fall asleep was a red-head, holding one last thought before he lost consciousness in the real world.

‘ _Tetsuya...’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, um, that whole chapter might have been very confusing, so I'll recap here. Basically, Kuroko is engaged to Mayuzumi's sister, and the gang can't go see Kuroko because the Shadow Kingdom is hecka racist, but they'rẻ gonna try their luck by trying to sneak in through Takao's family connections.
> 
> Also for the beginning of the first chapter(after the prologue), re-reading it now, I see how confusing it might be, so here is a simplified version.
> 
> Zenians (Humans) - Lowest physical abilities and Spirit compatibility; Live at max 2000-ish years due to the air properties
> 
> Kurians (Animal People) - 2nd best physical abilities, and 2nd lowest Spirit compatibility (only right above human's); Live for about 5000 years
> 
> Alciens (Elves basically) - 2nd lowest physical abilities, and 2nd highest Spirit compatibility; Live for about 7000 years
> 
> Shadows (Basically the overpowered group of the 4) - Highest physical abilities and Spirit compatibility; Live for unknown amount of time, but other races predict 20000+ years


	7. Chapter Five: Meetings

_ The Shadow’s Past _

...

_ Chapter V: Meetings _

 

***~Shadow Palace, Rose Garden~***

 

Kuroko had just finished his exploration of the whole garden and was now resting at the fountain, staring at the flowing water. At the moment, Kuroko felt like he was free from all of his worries, and that no one would call for him, since he was currently almost unrecognizable in the casual clothes he was wearing. Add onto that his low presence, and he was practically impossible to find. A small smile grace his lips as he breathed in the beauty of the whole scenery. His smile disappeared however, as he felt another presence near him. He decided to to call out to to the person before he/she could do something.

**“Please come out. I know you’re there.”** He spoke this in  _ Estrelían,  _ just in case the person couldn’t understand Japanese. It was a few seconds before a figure emerged from crouching behind the bushes. As the figure stepped out into the sunlight, its features were made fully visible to the teal-head. The presence he felt had turned out to be a girl with waist length ashen-colored hair, and striking emerald colored doe-like eyes. She was wearing an expensive looking dress, with frills and ruffles, and many bows, all colored either a light pink or white. Part of her hair was tied up by a pink bow, matching the ones on her dress. The only accessory she wore was a gold pendant with an emerald in the middle of her collarbone that matched her eyes. Kuroko stood there at first, slightly shocked that the presence he had sensed had been a girl. He had been suspicious about the presence since he couldn’t identify whether or not it was a girl or boy, even though both should breathe differently. The presence he had sensed however, had a breathing pattern that felt like neither, thus why he decided to call the presence out, to determine who it was. Kuroko concluded from her ability to to conceal her gender and her hair color, that this person was most likely his ‘fiancé’ Mayuzumi Atsune. He concealed a sigh, and opted for and gentle smile instead, as he addressed the girl.  **“Young Miss, may I ask what you were doing, hiding in the plants like that?”** Once again, he spoke in  _ Estrelían _ . The girl seemed stunned by his smile before stuttering out a reply.

**“Umm, well, I saw you resting there so peacefully, and I didn’t really want to disturb you, so I settled for looking at you from behind the bushes. I’m very sorry!”** The girl quickly bowed down to Kuroko, asking for forgiveness. Kuroko, expecting this kind of response, based on her movements as she revealed herself hiding inside the bushes, began to comfort her.

**“It’s quite alright, Young Miss, there is no need to apologize. Next time, please greet me if you’re around alright?”** Kuroko said, the smile still plastered on his face. His smile made the girl blush and turn away. Kuroko seeing this, lightly chuckled, which caught the girl's attention, making her turn around, only to see Kuroko giggling like a little school girl, which made her blush even harder, with both embarrassment, and awe at Kuroko’s laughing face. All she could think was ‘ _ C-C-Cute! _ ’ Kuroko noticing her stares, he quickly recomposed himself, and began walking away, waving at the girl.  **“Young Miss, I apologize for my actions just now. I appear to have lost control of myself. I did not intend to mock you in any way, so please, accept my apology.”** the girl quickly responded.

**“Oh, no, not at all sir, I did not take any offence, please, don’t think so.”** With that, Kuroko bowed, and began to turn around, while saying goodbye to Mayuzumi Atsune.

**“Thank you Young Miss, you are very kind. Now, please excuse me, as I have some business to attend to.”** With that, Kuroko lowered his presence and disappeared from the girl's sight, like a ghost, as if he was never there, while thinking, _ ‘Mayuzumi-san is not such a bad person…’ _

 

***~On the way to Takao’s Sister’s Residence~***

 

Everyone was still lost in thought after the revelation of their heritage. If one looked at the group, one would mistaken six of them for zombies, based on the bags under their eyes, and the way they were all walking. Takao, tired of their antics, decided to speak up.

“Oi! All of you are acting silly just because you found out something. It’s no big deal. Besides, you guys are drawing too much attention.” Takao whispered the last part, making the GOM and Momoi look around, only to see people whispering and some even being so blatantly obvious by pointing at the rainbow-haired group. After seeing the commotion they were causing, all of them blushed slightly in embarrassment, excluding Akashi, because, well, he’s Akashi. Takao now seeing that everyone was paying attention, proceeded to to move along. “Good. Now that everyone’s more attentive, let's get going.” Takao took the lead, with Mayuzumi following behind, reading a light novel that seemed to have popped out of nowhere. As they proceeded, everyone began to notice how the scenery around them slowly began to change into one of nature, with the number of trees and bushes growing gradually.

 

***~Time Skip~***

 

They were all worn out by the time that they arrived at a large mansion, which had greenery everywhere, even to the point where the walls looked like they were made from ivy vines, which wasn’t actually all that far from the truth. As the metal gates entwined with thick ivy opened, a woman with black midnight hair and similarly colored eyes could be seen standing on the steps of the front door, as if waiting for somebody to arrive. When she saw the group, her face brightened considerably, and she began sprinting towards them, despite wearing high heels and a dress that went past her ankles.

“Kazu-kun!” The woman yelled, as she ran straight into Takao, and squeezed the life out of him. 

“Nee-sa..ma..” was all Takao could utter as he was losing air, on the verge of passing out. Midorima, deciding to not be a tsundere for a while, tried to save his friend. He first coughed for her attention, which was given, seeing as the girl’s eyes turned toward him. 

“Excuse me, but would you mind letting Takao go? He appears to be suffocating.” Midorima felt the weird looks everyone was giving him, except for Takao’s newly revealed sister, as they had never heard the green-head be this honest before. Takao’s sister began panicking a bit, before she released her brother from her death-like grip, and began fussing over him.

“Oh no! Kazu-kun, are you alright?” She shook him by the shoulders furiously, until Takao woke up and told her stop. 

“I’m alright, Nee-sama.” Takao took a few seconds to catch his breath. “How did you know we were coming?” the raven-headed boy asked, confused on how his sister could have forseen the company she was going to have. Takao’s sister only laughed, before explaining it to Takao as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Silly Kazu-kun! I knew you were coming because of my  _ spirits _ .” After she said that, Takao made a silent ‘Oh’ with his lips, as if he had just remembered something. Before things could get any more off track, Midorima decided to interrupt.

“Ehem. Takao,I believe we need an introduction?” Takao and his sister both turned to look at Midorima, as he had interrupted their conversation.

“Ah! Sorry, everyone. Nee-sama, why don’t you introduce yourself?” Takao asked, turning to his sister. Takao’s sister stood up straight, smoothed out imaginary wrinkles on her dress, and began to introduce herself.

“My, how rude of me. My name is Takao Chiaki. I am Takao’s older sister. Nice to meet you all.” She bowed down with a noble’s grace, as her hair slipped off of her back, and spread across her shoulder and the cold twilight air, creating a beautiful image. Everyone was stunned for a few seconds before Chiaki raised her head, and smiled at them all, and Takao began to introduce each of them.

“Nee-sama, let me introduce everybody. The green head over there,” he pointed at Midorima, “is Midorima Shintarou, but I like to call him Shin-chan!” Takao exclaimed. Midorima gained a tick mark on his head, and was about to retort, but was cut off by Takao introducing the other members of the group. 

“The hyperactive puppy over there, is Kise Ryouta. He’s really jumpy, but a decent person once you get to know him.” The mentioned blonde was clinging to Aomine and sobbing about how ‘I’m not a puppy!’

“The one that the puppy’s clinging too is Aomine Daiki. He’s a basketball idiot.” Aomine was annoyed by his introduction and shouted ‘Oi!’ But that was all he could get out before Takao moved onto the next person. 

“The purple head over there is a candy-loving titan, Murasakibara Atsushi.” Murasakibara made no comment about his introduction, and just stood there, with a lethargic and bored expression on his face.

“The person over there,” he gestured to Akashi, “Is Akashi Seijuro. He’s the leader of the group in a way.”  Akashi didn’t make any protests about his introduction either. Takao was relieved, and decided to tell his sister about the psychotic tendencies of the red head later. 

“The final member of our group is over there. You can’t really see him sometimes, but I’m pretty sure you can Nee-sama.” Takao pointed to Mayuzumi Chihiro, who was still reading his light novel. Chiaki, nodded, saying that yes, indeed, she could see the gray head. “That over there, is...Mayuzumi Chihiro.” Takao paused slightly before saying Mayuzumi’s name, and is sister made a slight gasp as she heard it. Almost everyone in society knew of the Lord families, and those families themselves were obviously no exceptions. They had to know the names of their fellow Lord families for future benefits after all. Akashi notice the slight gasp that Chiaki made, and his eyes narrowed, calculating what that gasp could mean. Before he could gather any more information however, Chiaki had quickly reverted back to her smiling face, and began to invite everyone inside.

“Everyone, do come in, it would be rude of me to make my brother’s friends wait outside after all.” The mention of shelter had everyone quickly snapping out of whatever thoughts or conversations they were having, and made their way up the steps and into the ivy-walled manor. What they saw as they all walked inside amazed them. Even Akashi, despite being used to living in luxury, had never seen anything like this. It looked as if nature was completely in touch with the place, but not the point where it looked overbearing or as if the place hadn’t been inhabited. The way that the vines curved and wrapped around walls or furniture or artwork was elegant and perfectly place, as if the pottery was made to be wrapped around by the vines. As they proceeded down the hallway, they began to smell the distinct scent of food. Chiaki lead them all to a grand and intricately designed door, before it was opened, suspiciously by what appeared to be the vines themselves, and the group was meet with with a a mouthwatering banquet.

  
“Now I’m sure you’re all hungry, so let’s dig in, shall we?” With that, each person was lead to his/her seat, and so began dinner in the Takao household.


	8. Chapter Six: New Information

_The Shadow’s Past_

...

_Chapter VI: New Information_

 

The table was full of noise as the group ate. With Aomine and Kise constantly fighting over food, Murasakibara secretly taking the food while the two were arguing, and Momoi scolding the rest. The rest however, ate their meals in peace, with Takao having excused himself earlier, saying that he was too tired to eat, and would retire early. At first the rest of the group was surprised by his use of fancy words such as ‘retire early’ but for Akashi and Chiaki, it didn’t seem out of place, so everyone else had assumed it was a rich person thing. Midorima however, had noticed something strange, and decided to finish his food earlier so he could go check on Takao. After finishing his meal, Midorima asked to excuse himself.

“May I please be excused from dinner? I’m gaining a slight headache listening to these buffoons.” He pointed towards the group of three arguing over food. Chiaki, however, had seen his intentions earlier when Takao had excused himself, and thinking that Midorima would be the best and possibly only solution to help her brother, she decided to let him go.

Chiaki smiled and said, “There’s no need to hide your intentions little one. You may leave.” Akashi, being the ever observant one, had also noticed Midorima’s intention, and smirked at Midorima’s now embarrassed expression. Midorima himself, however, had been caught off guard, and began sputtering, as his face grew an even deeper scarlet.

“Li-lit-ttle one? I-I’m not little, and I don’t want to ch-heck on T-ta-kao, or an-nything..” He said while constantly pushing up his glasses and turning away.

“But, I never said anything about Kazu-kun.” Chiaki titled her head as if she didn’t know what Midorima was talking about. Midorima, now realizing his error, blushed even more heavily, but coughed slightly in an attempt to regain his composure, and began to leave.

“We-ell then, I-I’m going now. Please excuse me!” He slightly rushed the last sentence, proving that he really did care about Takao, even if he didn’t show it. Chiaki had on a bright smile and soft eyes had she watched the boy leave the room.

“I’m glad Kazunari finally has someone he can really count on…” Chiaki mumbled as she lowered her head slightly to hide her face. Before anyone could notice the change in her position, she quickly resumed her previous one and quietly waited for everyone to finish their respective meals. Fortunately for her, Akashi made sure that everyone ate quickly. Once they finished, Chiaki cleared her throat to gain everyone’s attention before speaking.

“Everyone, I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re here by now.” At that statement, everyone snapped to attention, as the room fell into a tensed silence, waiting for the woman to speak. “Well, first, we should start off with why all of you want to be here before we go onto why you were brought here. Based on what the Manager told me, you are all searching for someone here correct?” Everyone nodded in agreement. She continued. “If my memory serves me correctly, his first name was Tetsuya….and his first name was…” She trailed off, deep in thought, before Mayuzumi filled in the gap for her.

“Kuroko. His last name is Kuroko.” Chiaki looked at Mayuzumi, astonished by the fact that he knew and had absolutely no reaction to the last name the missing teal-head bore. She decided to voice her thought out loud. “Sir Mayuzumi,” everyone took note of her formal tone. “Have you not heard of the Kurokos before?” she asked this hesitantly, as if afraid of offending the ashen-head.

“Lady Chiaki, there is no need for formalities. I no longer associate myself with the Mayuzumi family. The only thing I bear that reminds me of that family now is their name, nothing more.” Chiaki had a look of confusion on her face, but decided to move on as everyone else looked just as confused, as well as urgent to get on with the conversation and squeeze out as much information as they could out of her.

“I see, well then, Mayuzumi, I’m guessing that you haven’t heard of the Kurokos before, I assume there must be a reason, and it is not my place, nor is it needed for the rest of you to obtain this information.” She looked sternly at all of the GOM and Momoi, making sure that her message was received. All of them reluctantly, nodded, excluding Akashi, who everyone thought _might_ have been a little peeved that he couldn't learn more about his *cough* **_crush_ ** *cough*. However, knowing not to push his luck, he just smiled that charming smile and agreed. The GOM and Momoi however, knew better than that, hence, they all slightly moved their chairs away from Akashi. Fortunately,-unfortunately-Chiaki didn’t seem to notice Akashi’s silent rage, as she continued on with her informative speech. “Now then, as to why you were all brought here, my brother informed me that you all were brought here by a man named Marcuil, correct?” She looked at the group for nods of confirmation before continuing. “Well, that man, Marcuil, is the royal butler.”

“Or so he claims to be.” said Aomine, snorting. Aomine seemed to still hold a grudge against the guy. Akashi internally sighed.

“Please don’t mind Daiki. You were saying Chiaki?” Akashi asked, wanting to hurry up the conversation. Chiaki, however, was slightly stunned at how there was no formality in his tone, but brushed it off, as this group was full of her brother’s friends.

“Yes, he is indeed a royal butler, and, most likely, the reason he brought you all here was on orders from His Majesty. That would be the most likely explanation." There, Akashi internally sighed.

“Please ignore Daiki’s comment Chiaki. Continue.” Chiaki was a bit shocked at how informally Akashi called her, but decided to let it slide since these people were her brother’s acquaintances and friends.

“Yes, now then, as to why Marcuil brought you here, I can only say that it was more likely than not, based on His Majesty’s orders. What His Majesty plans to get all of you to do I don’t know, but one thing that you should all know is that you guys most likely won’t get to leave until you’ve ‘played your parts’ in His Majesty’s eyes.” At the mention of not being able to leave, there were collective gasps in the room, particularly from Momoi and Kise. Aomine looked more furious than anything else, Murasakibara remained focused on eating, and Akashi decided he needed to rein everybody in before things all went downhill.

“Would you mind explaining Chiaki?” he asked. She turned to him and smiled slightly while nodding indicating her answer to his question.

“But of course.” Then, her face turned grim. “You see, the only ones who can travel through worlds are people who have been either given permission by His Majesty, or are strong enough to defeat someone that His Majesty has given permission to. In total, the number of people who meet either of these conditions would be less than 7 people. Most of these people are also loyal to His Majesty, so if His Majesty says you can't leave, then well, you can’t.” Chiaki looked at all of them, her face looking slightly apologetic. “Unfortunately, neither I, nor anyone that I know of has connections or is one of those select chosen people. Kuroko Tetsuya however, is. That much is known. Why he hasn’t decided to leave yet though, I’m unsure. I can tell you where to find him though.” This caught the group’s interest, and they all sat there waiting, with bated breath. Chiaki continued, her eyes narrowed, and lips pressed into a thin tight line. “Based on my observations, Kuroko Tetsuya is inside of the most secure place in Meturio, the Capital City. Where he is in it however, I don’t know.” She stared at them all for a few seconds, before suddenly returning back to a friendly host, and clapping her hands together. “Well then, I’m sure you’re all tired, so let’s get to bed, shall we?” Once she had finished speaking, the dining room doors opened, revealing 6 maids, all wearing identical clothing, excluding their ribbons in their hair, with each matching the hair color of one of the rainbow heads. “The servant with the ribbon the color of your hair will show you all to your rooms. Oh! and don’t worry about Midorima. I made sure a servant guided him to his room already. Now then everyone, good night!” After that, there was a cloud of green smoke, and she it cleared, Chiaki was nowhere to be found. Akashi decided that now was as good as a time to speak up as any, so he voiced his ‘request’

“Everyone, I expect you to all be up, dressed, and downstairs by 6:00 a.m. sharp tommorow. Am I understood?” Everyone nodded, even Aomine, the heaviest sleeper, and latest riser out of all of them, as even he could identify the unspoken threat. “Good. Now then, try to get some rest. I will go inform Shintarou.” At the threshold of the hallway, Akashi paused, and, with a hand on an area close to the hinge of the door, he whispered, but loudly enough for the rest of the group to hear, “...Sweet dreams.” Before walking away, leaving the rest of the group stunned. Momoi was the first to react.

“Did Akashi-kun just..?” She questioned, putting a finger on her lip, and turning her head sideways in a slightly cute manner.

“Yay! Akashicchi cares about us ssu~” Kise said, while running around in circles with his arms in the air, obviously joyful about the situation. Murasakibara was the first to complain about their situation.

“Kise-chin, you’re too noisy. I’m gonna go to sleep now~” He said the last few words in a sing-song voice, and began following after a purple-ribbon wearing maid.

“Yeah Kise, shut up. I’m sleepy, so, see you in the morning Satuski.” Aomine strolled off,following a navy-blue-ribbon wearing made into the dimly lit hallway.

“Wah! Aominecchi, Murasakibaraicchi,~how mean!~” Kise whined, crocodile tears coming out of his eyes.

“Come on Ki-chan! Let’s get going!” Momoi dragged Kise along to the two remaining maids, and they all walked deeper inside the passage, each mulling over the information they had obtained that night.


	9. Chapter Seven: The Party

_ The Shadow’s Past _

...

_ Chapter VII: The Party _

 

Kuroko had just come back from meeting his ‘fiancé’ in the garden, and was currently on his way back to his room, before he ended up getting caught, by the worst person possible, Marcuil.

“And what would you be doing out of your room, Tetsuya-sama?” The man asked, prying for information. Kuroko just turned around as he heard the voice, looking as blank as ever, but internally, he was on the verge of cursing, something he almost never did, due to his personality. Although he did tend to get violent...sometimes. 

“I was simply taking a stroll in the garden. Is that not allowed?” Kuroko answered swiftly, so as to not arouse any suspicion from the keen and devious butler. 

“Unfortunately, it is. Do you have any proof of going there and nowhere else, Tetsuya _ -sama _ ?” Marcuil didn’t bother to hide his spite or hate for Tetsuya, emphasizing the ‘sama’ to hint to Kuroko-kun that in this place, despite being a superior, he had no power. Kuroko was trapped. Bound to the castle with invisible shackles. Shackles created by his desire to help  _ Zenians _ or  _ humans _ as they called themselves on Earth. ‘ _ Such foolishness why help those creatures? Such a disgusting and unfortunate weakness you have Tetsuya-sama..’  _ Marcuil thought.

“I’m afraid I don’t have anything of the sort, Marcuil.” Kuroko said with and blank face, staring at the man whom he had once called his teacher. 

“Hmm..well, His Majesty had predicted this, and had told me to to let you off once. So I will do so. But next time,You may not be so lucky…” Even if he was more powerful than Marcuil, Kuroko could not afford to underestimate him. The man’s voice could still make chills run throughout Kuroko’s spine with ease. Teaching Kuroko rigorously and punishing him for his errors made Marcuil capable of that. 

“I...understand. I will inform His Majesty of my intentions the next time I feel like doing so. I appreciate the warning, Marcuil.” Kuroko needed to appear unshaken. One mistake could land him an extra few months of training. Something he couldn’t afford if he didn’t want to see his friends still alive by the time he came back. Kuroko knew that the moment he left he would never see his friends the same age again. A few months here meant decades on Earth. He wanted to at least see them from afar, watch their children grow up, and be there at their funeral if it calls for it. That’s why it didn’t surprise him that he got found after a almost 4 years on Earth. In  _ Meturio _ he probably would have only been gone for fora few days. At most, a week. He was actually surprised that it took so long for them to find him, but His Majesty had most likely just been waiting for people close enough to him to drop their guard, and allow His Majesty to take advantage of them. That wouldn’t have happened with the GOM due to how their overwhelming power in basketball gave them many enemies, always keeping them on edge. With Seirin though, being a new school gave them practically no enemies. They weren’t used to having targets on their backs, making them the easiest to control and use against the valiant Kuroko. Kuroko saddened at that thought. He had gotten used to the time flow on Earth, and completely immersed into basketball, forgetting all about  _ Shadows _ and everything else.  _ ‘Hah! How foolish of me...to think I could run away forever. But, at least I made memories…’  _ Kuroko was snapped back to attention when Marcuil informed him of his next destination.

“Tetsuya-sama, His Majesty has summoned you. Get dressed properly and come to the throne room in 20 minutes.” Marcuil turned around and proceeded to go in the direction of the servant’s quarters, not looking back once. Kuroko proceeded up to his room, and mentally prepared himself for the conversation to come.

 

***~Throne Room, The Shadow Palace, Capital City of Meturio~***

 

Kuroko entered the room despite his protesting  _ spirits,  _ Selutria and Skodai. Both of them weren’t scared of His Majesty like the other  _ spirits.  _ If anything, they hated the guy, and both would gladly kill him if given the chance. But both knew just how important and cunning the man was, as well as the fact that he was no easy opponent. Kuroko walked down the red carpet, posture perfect and poised, no emotions present on his face, uniform crisp and clean, and his hair perfectly combed, although set in his usual style, with no tangles to to be seen. He began to kneel, one knee touching the ground, his jacket’s lower half resting on top of his calf, his other leg’s foot firm on the ground, his gloved right hand over his heart, and his head bowed low, showing the utmost loyalty to the man in front of him. 

“You called, Your Majesty?” Kuroko inquired, hiding his curiosity behind his usual monotone. 

“I have decided on something, Tetsuya.” The King seemed to pause for effect. “You will be attending a party later this week, which will be hosted by the Takao family, as the Shadow Palace Representative.” Kuroko, a little shocked, was silent for a few seconds before finally gathering enough courage to pose a question the King.

“Your Majesty, may I be notified of the reason for such an arrangement?” Kuroko said this camly, despite his internal state, although he gritted his teeth a little in anger at the newfound revelation.

“But of course, Tetsuya.” The man said sweetly, but Kuroko knew that there was poison in his words, and the only one harmed would be the person who received and believed them. “You see, my dear Tetsuya, I believe that you should get to know people more. Even if you are and military officer, you should get to know all of the ten families, for, how shall I say it, future reference.” Despite being absolutely repulsed at the idea of getting to know arrogant and self-centered people with ‘I-am-better-than-everyone-else-is’ attitudes, right now, he had no choice but to obey.

“I understand. I will fulfill your wishes, Your Majesty.” Kuroko said, his head still bowed in respect. He heard the doors behind him open, which was his signal to leave. He stood up, bowed from his waist, and walked out of the room, in the same manner as he had come in. Kuroko was upset at the whole arrangement, but little did he know of the ‘little’ surprise that would await him in the Takao family’s humble home.

 

***~Takao Family Vacation House(Mansion)~***

 

The GOM and Momoi had all woken up to the sound of knocking on their door. All were informed of Chiaki’s wish for a meeting. After dismissing the maid, each began his/her own preparations for the morning, and soon, all had gathered at the dining table from the night prior. Once everyone was gathered, Chiaki decided to start. 

“Everyone, before you begin eating, I would like to inform you all of something.” Everyone turned to look at her, curious about what she could have to to say that they couldn’t do after breakfast. “While this may come as a shock to you, please hear me out first before you do anything alright?” Before any protests or arguments could be made, Akashi spoke up.

“Yes we understand. Isn’t that right everyone?” Akashi turned towards the rest and away From Chiaki’s view before he glared at them, conveying a silent message of  _ ‘If you don’t agree I WILL kill you’.  _ With the group now thoroughly terrified, they all nodded, hastily agreeing to the red-head’s decision. “Well, there you have it Chiaki. Please proceed.” Akashi said as he turned around, all smiles and rainbows.

“Yeah Nee-sama. Please just tell us.” Takao now appeared more jolly and alert than he did yesterday, something that both Akashi and Chiaki noticed. Chiaki gained more courage at seeing her brother’s support, and nodded. Akashi on the other hand, made a quick sideways glance to Midorima. _ ‘I wonder what Shintarou said to him...I’ll have to question him later.’  _ Akashi then wrapped up his thoughts and began listening to what the woman in front of them had to say.

“Everyone, earlier this morning, Kazu-kun and my parents sent me a letter.” Takao stiffened at the mention of the word ‘parents’. “They have informed me of a party that they have set up, and they would like for me to be there.” Akashi noted how she used ‘me’ instead of ‘us’ implying that Takao was not meant to go. 

“Ano..Chiaki-cha-I mean, Lady Chiaki, what does this have to do with us?” Momoi asked, referring to herself, the GOM, and Mayuzumi. 

“I’m glad you asked Momoi. You see, I asked our parents,” She referred to Takao and herself, “If I would be allowed to bring along some guests after looking at the guest list.” 

“Pardon the interruption Chiaki, but would you be implying that Kuroko Tetsuya is on that list?” Akashi asked. The group gasped, daring to look hopeful as they turned to Chiaki silently urging her to go on.

  
“How sharp of you Akashi. I indeed am saying so. If you don’t believe me, you can look for yourself.” She snapped her fingers, and one of the vines moved towards the group, bringing with it a parcel, which Akashi took, and opened. The rest of the GOM and Momoi flocked to him like flies, while the other three stood on the sidelines, letting the group of friends absorb the information. After a few minutes, Akashi closed the parcel, and handed it back to the awaiting vine before asking, “So, when do we leave?”


	10. Chater Eight: Arrival

_The Shadow’s Past_

...

_Chapter VIII: Arrival_

 

***~On the way to the Main Takao Mansion, GOM Group~***

 

It was sunset about now, judging from the pink hue in the sky, along with the lengthening shadows. Most of the group had fallen asleep in their comfortable leather seats, despite the stiff and formal clothing they were all wearing. The few who were able to stay awake, forced to in some cases, we're namely, Akashi, Midorima, Chiaki, and, surprisingly, Aomine. The group only had about 20 more minutes left in the limo, according to Chiaki. Aomine was already at his limit with wearing the clothes, and was practically wailing internally at the prospect of having to stay in the car longer.

“First, I have to wear this suit, and now I have to stay in here longer? Tch...Tetsu had better be there…” Aomine mumbled to himself, hoping nobody would hear it. But, scarily, as always, Akashi had managed to pick it up.

“What was that Daiki? Are you complaining?” Akashi had brought the boy to attention, smiling devilishly at Aomine, as if daring him to repeat what he just said.

“No...of course not, Akashi.” Aomine answered with his head down, and without any fear. This caused Akashi to frown. He had noticed something wrong with Aomine, which is partly the reason why he had wanted to test for any normal reactions. However, there were none, and he was beginning to get _slightly_ worried for the tanned boy. But, as he had more important things to do right now, he couldn’t attend to it. He prayed things might be better once they met Kuroko again.

Ah. Kuroko. The root of this whole affair. Akashi was personally curious about how Kuroko had managed to hide it all from him these many years. But Akashi supposed that that was what made Kuroko special. He was an enigma. Akashi could never understand him like he could others. Akashi had figured out how Mayuzumi, Takao, and even Chiaki thought, so he figured it wasn’t a ‘ _Shadow’_ thing. Right then and there, Akashi was once again reaffirmed of his love for Kuroko. All of a sudden the car stopped. Akashi looked outside and saw a mansion far bigger than the one they had been previously residing in. This one, unlike the other one, had no ivy vines, or really, any sign of nature inside the house at all. Everything on the outside looked normal for a house of that size, with greenery on the outside, and a fountain in the middle of the pathway circling to the front porch of the house. The only thing that distinguished this mansion from any other was the symbol of an griffin with vines intertwining with its legs on the iron gates. The vines however, didn’t appear to be tying the griffin to the ground. Rather, it seemed like the vines came out of the griffin itself. Before Akashi could examine the now identified household’s coat of arms, the iron gates opened, efficiently splitting the picture into two, as if representing division in the household. Once the car arrived at the front door, and once the driver got out of his seat and closed the door, Chiaki quickly woke everyone up and began to speak.

“Remember what I told you all before, even if you see him arrive, don’t immediately go to him. Things will get complicated if you do that. I will be with my parents the whole evening, so please try not to cause any trouble, or else it will reflect badly on the household, and you guys as well. Do you all understand?” The group nodded. They were only allowed to go because of Chiaki anyway, and they also promised the people that were left behind that they would find Kuroko. Takao had decided not to come because he ‘felt tired’ although Akashi and Midorima still had their suspicions about that. Mayuzumi said that since all the ten lords and others are coming, him showing up would only cause chaos. Everyone agreed on that point though, as they wouldn’t want to draw too much attention to themselves by bringing him along. Momoi couldn’t go because Chiaki said that her going would arouse suspicions, since she couldn’t say Momoi was ‘escorting’ her, like for the boys, and saying that she was a ‘friend’ would only get everyone into trouble, as bringing ‘friends’ was looked down upon. Momoi was extremely tempted to ask why, but after seeing something on Chiaki’s face, she relented, and didn’t go, but not before making everyone promise that they would bring back her ‘Tetsu-kun’ safe and sound. Chiaki now made them all separate, and patiently waited for the driver to open the door. Once everyone was out, and on the porch, Chiaki talked to the servant at the front door, who bowed, and let them all in. As they entered, they saw somebody announcing everybody’s names. The group of boys panicked, excluding Akashi and the ever uncaring Murasakibara, who was a bit cranky from being awoken from his nap. Chiaki quickly calmed them down however, by saying she will handle it. Chiaki walked over to the man, and whispered something into the man’s ear. The announcer nodded, and she walked back to the group.

“What did you tell him?” Akashi inquired, he wanted to make sure that he wasn’t called something silly.

“Oh, don’t worry, I just told him our names, of course, with a little adjustment.” She smiled at them, and all of a sudden, it was their turn, and the announcer opened his mouth, and began announcing their names.

“Lady Chiaki and her escorts, Aka, Midori, Ki, Ao, and Murasaki have arrived.” They all began proceeding down the steps with grace, as the audience stared and clapped for them, as the Daughter of the Household had just returned, with Chiaki and Akashi obviously being the best at going down the steps. However, for Akashi, despite the smile on his face, he himself had to admit that he was a bit peeved at his fake name. Aka was most likely one of the most absurd names he had ever heard. He decided to let it slide however, as it had allowed them access to the place. Once they reached the bottom of the steps, a voice called out to Chiaki.

“Chiaki.” The voice said. The group and Chiaki all turned towards the source of the voice. Standing there was a man that looked in his twenties, with raven-colored hair and light yellow colored eyes. He looked exactly like Takao, excluding the yellow eyes. Next to the said man was a woman who also looked in in her twenties, with hazelnut-colored hair and the gray eyes that both of the Takao siblings seemed to have inherited. The group noticed the resemblance and figured out that these people were most likely the sibling’s parents.Akashi bowed first, causing the others to follow.

“Lord and Lady Takao, it is an honor to to meet you.” Akashi almost slipped, by greeting the two in front of him as equals instead of superiors. He was used to being on the same social standing as these people, not below them. He was, in a word, frustrated. To have to bow down to others was not something he was taught or allowed to do as a child. But, he supposed that if it was for ‘his’ Tetsuya, then, he could endure it.

“Hmm...I see these…’escorts’ of yours have manners. A decent choice I suppose. I assume your relationship with them is strictly professional?” Lord Takao asked. He had plans for his daughter after all.

“But of course Father, Mother.” She addressed both of them, trying to get away from that topic, so she could inquire about what the group came here for. “Father, is...Kuroko Tetsuya here yet?” Chiaki asked, seemingly innocently.

“No, my daughter. Chiaki, are you perhaps...interested in him?” Her father seemed to have this happy gleam in his eyes, as though this was the first time his daughter was ever interested in a male.

“No, Father, I just simply wish to meet him. I’ve heard many things after all. And it would be advantageous for the future as well no?” Chiaki stated. Hoping that her father would stop prying. It seemed that her prayers were answered when her mother spoke up.

“Dear, our Chiaki dislikes anything to do with upper society remember?” Lady Takao said. Akashi noticed that there was a slight reprimanding in her voice. However, it seemed to be directed towards Chiaki, as if she was upset with her daughter’s decision to not be a part of upper society. Akashi frowned slightly. _‘It seems that the Takao siblings have quite troublesome pasts…’_ Akashi came out of his thoughts and looked at the three present members of the Takao family. His attention then went to Chiaki as the raven-head began to speak.

“Thank you Mother.” Chiaki slightly bowed, with her hands resting against the bottom half of her dress as she spoke. Once Chiaki had reverted back to her original posture, all of a sudden, a butler came towards them, walking briskly, and having a slightly strained expression on his face. He stopped next to the Master and Mistress of the House.

“I’m very sorry to interrupt Sire, Madam, but, we have a...guest, that I believe you must attend to immediately.” the butler said. Even though what he was doing was most likely disrespectful, and he could lose his job for it, he had still done it. This piqued Lord Takao’s interest as to what person could cause such disrespect, as well as the fact that if this person was really that important then he should most likely go.

“Very well, we shall go. Chiaki, you shall wait near the staircase for us.” He then turned towards the five boys, and looked them over once, before saying, “They can come as well I suppose. Just make sure no trouble is caused.” That was all the man said before he left, going off to attend to whatever guest he had.

“Well, what are we going to do now Akashi?” Midorima asked, while pushing up his glasses.

“We shall do as Chiaki’s parents instructed, and wait for Kuroko to arrive.” Akashi said, before crossing his arms, leaning against the wall near the staircase, and closing his eyes.

“Tch” Aomine said, before leaning against the wall as well. The rest stood, while Murasakibara wandered off to the food table, looking for something to sooth his cranky mood, and Kise constantly complaining to Aomine about how he was so bored. Midorima internally thought _‘This is going to be a long night.’_

 

***~Main Takao Household, Meeting Room~***

 

Marcuil was waiting in the large meeting room, growing more impatient by the second. _‘Seriously, he thought, where was that servant he sent off a few minutes ago? What part of “important guest” do people not understand? The nobles just grow more and more arrogant by the days…’_ Marcuil’s inner monologue continued to grow, and was only watched by a hooded figure, sitting down and staring up at his said ‘bodyguard’s’ internal strife. All the hood figure could due was internally sigh and how much impatience the man had. It had only been a few minutes after all! All of a sudden the door opened, causing Marcuil to turn around and get ready to greet the obviously relaxed couple in his opinion, as they hadn’t come any sooner. The Takao couple entered the room, expecting to see one of the ten lords possibly wanting to make a deal, only to see Marcuil and a cloaked figure sitting in a chair next to Marcuil, with obvious regality in the cloaked figure’s posture. The couple’s eyes widened significantly. They had quickly put the pieces together and assumed that at worst they had made the King wait for them. They quickly began apologizing, going down on their knees and asking for forgiveness.

“Yes, yes,” Marcuil said, “You should consider yourselves lucky that the person I’m accompanying has a lot of patience.” The two glanced at the hooded figure on the chair, and Marcuil seemed to be enjoying the amount of fear he was inflicting on the couple. All of a sudden, the cloaked figure spoke, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Please rise, Lord and Lady Takao.” His voice sounded soothing, as if trying to calm down the two. His efforts bore fruit as the couple’s previously tensed shoulders now seemed more relaxed, and the aura of fear they were giving off earlier seemed to lessen, but only slightly. After seeing this, the cloaked figure decided to continue. “Now then, let’s start shall we?”

“Of course.” Lord Takao replied. He tried to make his voice sound steady, but it had unfortunately come out a bit shaky. Internally, the man cursed his voice for sounding so. The pair moved to the other end of the room, and both of them sat down in separate chairs stationed at the end opposite to the cloaked figure’s current position. Once the two were settled down, Lord Takao began. “My servant had informed me of a matter you wished to discuss Sire?” The Lord looked at the cloaked figure, expecting him to reply, only to have Marcuil answer instead.

“Yes. You see, His Majesty wished to tell you that he shall be having a representative take his place at the party tonight, and he does hope that no...unfortunate accidents will occur that could cause harm to his _dear_ representative.” Marcuil smiled a little too sweetly at the pair, making both turn their heads to the cloaked figure in front of them, now realising that if the person in that cloak was upset with them in any way, or found something suspicious, the King would have their heads.

“We...understand. We’ll make sure he has a splendid time. Please tell His Majesty that there is no need to fret. No harm will come to any of our guests.” Lady Takao replied.

“Pardon, but may we know who the representative is? We do not believe that our guests would allow such a suspicious person to be around them.” Lord Takao asked proudly, as if he was the one with the upper hand.

“My, my, how arrogant.” Marcuil said, before turning to the cloaked figure. “Would you like to reveal yourself? If not, we could always a dispose of these people.” Marcuil had a slight bow as he spoke the cloaked figure, and darted his eyes over to remind the couple that they could be disposed of anytime, and that their fate lay in the hands of the person before them.

  
“It’s alright. It’s only fair after all, that they know who I am if we are asking for them to allow me in.” Pale fingers reached up to the hood, and tugged, revealing teal hair and matching colored eyes. “It’s good to see you again, Lord and Lady Takao.” The man, no, boy, made a slight bow from his upper body, but only a very miniscule one, as he was technically of higher rank, and therefore didn’t need to bow, but he felt that he should show his elders some respect. After all, they had lived for about 3000 years. They were still in their prime. While the boy was busy mulling over his thoughts, the couple was shocked beyond belief. Who wouldn’t be, after seeing the Commander of the Royal Army, the second most powerful person right after the King himself, in front of them, talking to them as if they were old friends?


	11. Chapter Nine: Garden Escape

_ The Shadow’s Past _

...

_ Chapter IX: Garden Escape _

 

“Ku-Kuroko Tet-tsuya?!?” Was the only thing that could come out of Lord Takao’s mouth. He was shocked beyond belief, that the boy who had only showed up at required party gatherings between the Ten Lords had shown up now, at a random party he, the 8th Lord, had hosted for the nobles beneath him.

“Yes, Lord Takao?” Kuroko asked. The mentioned man snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the Commander’s voice.

“Ah yes, please excuse my rudeness in calling you so informally, Commander.” Lord Takao urged his wife to apologize as well, which is what she did once she realized that she had been spacing out. “I sincerely apologize for all the rudeness I’ve shown you today. You see, my daughter had just arrived home, and I wanted to greet her, although, I’m sure the greeting could have waited until we had talked Sire, I truly am sorry. My wife and I ask for your mercy and forgiveness.” Lord Takao bowed his upper body to Kuroko, staying that way until the boy replied. 

“No, no, I understand Lord Takao. There is no need for such formality. Seeing one’s family again is something very precious, and should be put before other meetings. Please, do rise, there is nothing that needs to be forgiven.” Kuroko said this with a smile on his face, a very rare one that he usually reserved for friends, but as he heard the man in front of him talk about family, he couldn’t help but smile at how kind the man was. “Now, I believe that we about so have a party to attend?” Kuroko rose from his chair, removed his cloak, and opened the door, exiting the room, with the other three following behind. All of them soon reached the entrance to to the ballroom, where a guard stopped Kuroko.

“Your invitation, Sir?” The guard asked. Kuroko handed the man the invitation, the one specifically sent to to the Shadow Palace. The man’s eyes widened as he saw the address of the letter and bowed at a nearly ninety-degree angle. “I-I apologize sir, I hadn’t known that you were from the Palace. Please, proceed!” The guard squeaked the last sentence in fear as he opened the door. After all, anyone who came from the palace was one of the strongest people in all of  _ Meturio _ . 

“Thank you.” Kuroko said, before walking past the door, and into the large room gracefully, and as his shoes met the floor, it made almost no sound, as if the boy was one with the very air itself, instead of someone made of flesh and bone. Kuroko noticed the announcer at the top of the stairway, and knew it was going to be a long night if the announcer managed to catch him. However, before he could slip away like usual, Marcuil decided to speak up.

“You there.” Marcuil looked at the announcer, who, in turn, looked back at Marcuil. “You almost missed a guest. Is that not unbefitting of a servant such as yourself?” The announcer turned and looked around, until he found Kuroko. The man jumped a bit at seeing him.  _ Shadows  _ were used to getting the jump on others, not the other way around, hence the announcer’s surprise. After recovering from Kuroko’s sudden appearance, the announcer quickly apologized to Kuroko for missing the teal-head. 

“It is quite alright. There is no need for an apology.” The announcer thanked Kuroko for his kindness, and quickly asked for his name, trying to make up for his previous blunder.

“Kuroko Tetsuya, Royal Representative.” Kuroko smiled at the man in  way similar to that of how Kise would smile at his fans. The man’s eyes widened in the same way as that of the guard’s. However, the man quickly regained his composure, and opened his mouth to announce the arrival of one of the most important people in the country to the currently ignorant guests.

“The Royal Representative of His Majesty...” The announcer’s voice reached to all corners of the ballroom. As soon as the words ‘Royal Representative’ left the announcer’s lips, all heads immediately turned to the staircase, awaiting the presence of such a powerful person; someone great enough to be entrusted by His Majesty the job of being his representative. The people interested included a certain group of rainbow heads as well. In specific, one red-head’s interest was piqued greatly.

 

***~Ballroom, GOM and Chiaki~***

 

The announcement of a ‘Royal Representative’ caused a slight shift in Akashi’s current position.  _ ‘A Royal Representative hmm? Interesting…’  _ A slight smirk had made it’s way onto Akashi’s face, causing the rest of the GOM to slightly shiver and snap to attention. Even Aomine, who was pretending to sleep, had now opened his eyes and was attentive, as he had developed a sort of sixth sense for whenever Akashi was letting out a devious aura. This was of course, developed so that the tanned boy could run away whenever Akashi seemed to have plans, which tended to involve him getting hurt or sacrificed. Luckily, after examining what Akashi was doing, it seemed to be neither, to Aomine’s great relief. 

“Everyone, we should probably move away from the staircase. It will most likely become crowded with people who wish to meet the representative from the Shadow Palace once the representative comes down.” Chiaki explained. The group agreed, and began silently walking away, even Kise, the usually talkative one, had quieted down to make their trip easier. They stopped in their tracks however, as they heard the name of the said, ‘Royal Representative’. 

“...hailing from the Shadow Palace, Kuroko Tetsuya.” Akashi and the rest of the GOM turned to look at the top of the stairs. There, stood Kuroko Tetsuya, their phantom sixth man, as easily visible as any normal person, and seemingly more ‘bright’ than before. The person they saw no longer seemed like a shadow. Now, he was like a light, gracing all the people in the room with his presence. The group was shocked. Kuroko, while he hadn’t changed in appearance, now had a presence and aura that oozed power. The teal-head now seemed so far away from them, as the gentle sky is to the barren Earth. All of a sudden the chatter in the room went down to extremely hushed whispers. The group could only hear snippets of conversation here and there, but the words used were generally along the lines of ‘Commander,’ ‘Powerful Spirit,’ and ‘Isn’t he too weak looking…?’ The murmurs continued until Lord Takao’s voice boomed across the room. 

“Please, settle down everyone!” The man waited until the room had become completely silent. “The Commander has just returned from the  _ other world _ . Therefore, he is still adjusting. Please treat him kindly.” Kuroko descended down the stairs, and as he reached the bottom, he was immediately swarmed by many guests who wished to either gain favor with him, or were simply curious about who he was, as he had rarely ever showed his face in public. Kuroko however, despite being very observant had failed to notice a rainbow haired group of boys staring at him from the distance, one in particular slightly irritated at the attention Kuroko was getting from the female population of the party, and the rest all had one thought running in their minds.

_ ‘Kuroko is...the Commander of the army?!’ _

 

***~Ballroom, Kuroko~***

 

Kuroko felt overwhelmed. The number of questions and amount of attention he was receiving was something he was not used to  _ at all.  _ He had to talk to them however, as he felt it would be rude otherwise, and truthfully, his tendency to be polite to everybody wouldn’t allow him to show disrespect to these people by running away from them on top of that, Marcuil had left him to fend for himself in that crowd. So, Kuroko ended talking and dancing and hanging out with the guests for something around 2 hours. Once there were no more people surrounding him, Kuroko decided that he should go and slip out into the garden. He thought that after all the talking that he had done tonight, he at least deserved some fresh air. Kuroko walked past the two open glass doors, and into the lush garden.

 

***~Lord Takao’s Private Study, Not too long after Kuroko’s Introduction~***

 

A man sat in his leather chair, talking to somebody through a crystal orb that only let sound through, the sun’s rays filtering through the blinds, illuminating only half of the man’s face. 

“Has he arrived?” The man on the other side of the crystal orb asked, authority and power present in the man’s voice.

“He has.” the man in the room replied quickly, forgetting formalities. Luckily, the man he was reporting to seemed to overlook that tiny detail

“I see. Make sure that he meets  _ them,  _ or else…” The man in the room gulped, thoughts about possible punishments he would receive running through his mind. “Do you understand, Lord Takao?” 

“Yes...Your Majesty…” The man now known as the Master of the Takao Household said.

“Ah, yes, how is that  _ son  _ of yours?” The King asked, knowing that the man’s son was one of the few things that ticked the man off. Lord Takao’s fists clenched, anger distorting the man’s features. 

“Please don’t joke about such things Your Majesty...you know I don’t have a son. Only a wonderful, faithful, and perfect daughter _.  _ She is an only child.” As Lord Takao said this, the King was smirking on the other side of the line, and said, with a fake apologetic tone, “Oh my, I apologize, Lord Takao, I had forgotten that that was a touchy subject.” There was also a slight threat in the King’s tone, due to Lord Takao’s kinda-but-not-really show of defiance with the man’s precious sentence. Lord Takao, now sensing the threat, quickly apologized to his superior. He himself cursed internally at himself for forgetting his place whenever his ‘son’ was involved. That topic always caused him to become extremely angry, no matter who he was with or talking to. After hearing his apology, the King excused himself from the conversation, and the crystal ball’s previously swirling mist settled down, becoming still. Lord Takao released a sigh, and walked out of the room, deciding he should most likely return back to the party before people started becoming suspicious.

 

***~Ballroom, GOM and Chiaki~***

  
The group of rainbow haired boys were still trying to process the fact of who exactly their previously phantom sixth man was. Aomine was still in complete shock, mouth gaping, Kise wa mumbling something along the lines of ‘Kurokocchi….Commander..’. Midorima looked the calmest out of all of them, excluding Akashi. The only thing that showed Midorima’s shock and wonder about Kuroko was the fact that he was constantly rolling his lucky item, a teal marble, along his fingers. Murasakibara wasn’t faring any better than the rest, not eating any of the food he had just obtained from the banquet table. Akashi looked like he hadn’t been shocked at anything, and that he knew it was going to happen. Inside of his mind however, his thoughts were running rampant, and he didn’t really know what to do. He decided that some fresh air would do him some good. Yes, that was what he needed. He quickly told Chiaki where he was planning on going so she wouldn’t attempt to come looking for him. He also didn’t want to be around his dazed friends any longer. Akashi felt the breeze lightly brush his cheek as he began to enter the garden’s labyrinth, staring up at the darkening sky, and the twinkling stars beginning to show.


	12. Chapter Ten: Starlit Reunion

_The Shadow’s Past_

...

_Chapter X: Starlit Reunion_

 

***~Takao Household’s Garden~***

 

Kuroko was walking around the garden, completely immersed in the sounds and sights nature had to offer. He became unable to detect any presences around him, not to mention a very familiar presence. One he had known throughout his 3 years of middle school. Footsteps approaching him, he didn’t realize it until it was too late.

“Tetsuya?” A voice said, full with as much authority as ever, but also with a slight uncertainty and a small hint of fear lacing the usually confident voice. Kuroko himself froze on the spot, willing himself not to turn round and confirm who it was. Kuroko decided to try and brush off the person, fooling himself into beleieving that it wasn’t who he thought it was, because, ‘ _That person shouldn’t, couldn’t be here!’_

“I believe that you must have mistaken me for someone else...please excuse me.” Kuroko said this as calmly as he could, and was already speed walking away from Akashi as he said the last part. However, it seemed that fate was really mocking him today. Akashi had grabbed his arm before he could even fully get past him.

“You surely couldn’t have forgotten who I am now could you have, Tetsuya?” Akashi asked. Kuroko gave up. He supposed that if Akashi was already here, he might as well talk to him. Then he internally thought, _‘Plus, if I wanted to escape, that would mean hurting Akashi-kun, and I can’t very well do that now can I? After all, I would be damaging Akashi-kun’s perfect skin, and those enchanting ruby eyes would be clouded with anger...that would be just disastrous wouldn’t it?...*internal sigh*..........Wait...what? Did I...just…’_ As realization of what his internal thoughts just consisted of he dawned on him, blood rushed to his face, painting it a brilliant crimson red.

As Kuroko was busy being occupied with his own thoughts and trying to calm down, Akashi was busy waiting for a reply and had released the boy, seeing as the teal-head wasn’t going to be escaping any time soon. The boy had been muttering things for a full minute now, slightly worrying the red-head. After all, what if somehow, by some weird phenomenon he was…‘wrong’ about who the boy in front of him was? What if the boy was actually not his Tetsuya? Akashi began to mull over that hypothesis, lost in his thoughts of possibly actually being ‘wrong’ for once, until he heard that the mumbling from the boy in front of him had come to a halt.

Without turning around, the teal-head in front of him began to speak. “What is your name?” The boy asked. Akashi was really confused at this point. _‘Is Tetsuya testing me?’_ He thought. Akashi thought over how to respond, and decided on going with his alias, despite how much he despised it. Because, after all, _‘Tetsuya is smart enough to link the alias to the name, and if he isn’t Tetsuya...’_ Akashi internally berated himself for thinking of such possibilities, as he was never wrong when it came to _his_ Tetsuya. Akashi began to speak, voice still slightly hesitant, something Akashi internally cursed at, “My name is, Aka, Sire.” Akashi made a slight bow. He saw Kuroko twitch slightly at the use of ‘Sire’ and Akashi’s bow afterwards. At that, he was confirmed of his suspicions, and knew that the person in front of him was indeed his Tetsuya. Akashi now had a smirk on his face, but it was hidden with his current position, the shadows obscuring his face. He waited for what seemed like an eternity until Kuroko finally turned around, a sigh escaping the phantom’s lips as he did so.

“Please don’t tease me like this Akashi-kun.” At the sound of Kuroko addressing him, Akashi finally raised his head, but the smirk on his face was now gone, and he was looking at Kuroko with the most serious glare he could produce. Kuroko didn’t show any reaction however, as always. However, Akashi supposed that with him apparently being a part of the army and such, he must have seen much more terrifying things than being glared at. Before his thoughts could get off track however, Akashi quickly redirected them back onto the most important matter at hand.

“Tetsuya...allow me to get straight to the point.” Akashi waited for Kuroko’s nod before deciding to continue. After all, while he was most likely just as furious - if not more so - as the other Miracles about Kuroko’s supposed ‘disappearance’, he certainly wasn’t barbaric enough to just straight out yell at Kuroko about why the tealhead left. He was sure that if it was _Tetsuya_ who left without saying a word, then it was due to something that he couldn’t avoid. why did you leave After he received Kuroko’s confirmation, Akashi spoke. “Why did you suddenly leave, Tetsuya?”

Kuroko himself had expected the question, and after Akashi said he wanted to get straight to the point, the boy knew that the red-head was most likely talking about this, but he still couldn’t help his eyes going slightly wide at the question. The teal-head pondered on how to answer the forbidden question. He knew that lies wouldn’t work on Akashi. His ex-captain was too smart for that. Kuroko racked his brain until he couldn’t think anymore. He decided to just tell the straight out truth; kinda. He couldn’t tell the redhead everything, or else the King might come and decide to use his friends against him.

“Akashi-kun, I...came back here because...I needed to do something….” His Tetsuya was being very vague, and Akashi didn’t like it. The redhead was becoming suspicious. _‘Tetsuya is usually very precise in in his explanations. He’s hiding something.’_

Once Kuroko saw the look of distrust painted on the young Akashi’s face, he knew that the red-head was not satisfied with his answer. Akashi however, only breathed a sigh before speaking.

“Tetsuya, I don’t know what you’re hiding, but, if you don’t want me, no, all of us to know, then I shall respect your wishes.” Kuroko breathed a sigh of relief, but it was cut short as Akashi began speaking again. “However, I would like to know how long you plan to be gone, Tetsuya.”

Just then, Kuroko remembered why he came here, and the time gaps between the two worlds.

“Akashi-kun, how long have you...and the rest...been in this world?” Kuroko asked, ignoring Akashi's previous statement, with his bangs shadowing his face.

“Today would make it the third night I believe.” Akashi answered, head titled slightly upwards towards the sky. Kuroko silently breathed a sigh of relief. _‘Only a week of two will have passed then. They can still go back without too much trouble.’_

“Akashi-kun, I think it’s best that everyone leaves this world as soon as possible.” Kuroko said, raising his eyes to to look right into Akashi’s, the tealhead’s orbs burning with determination, pleading for his friends to listen. Akashi didn’t understand what Kuroko had wanted for a few seconds, but soon figured out what Kuroko was worried about, and tried to voice his question.

“Tetsuya, is there something about time differences between here and Earth that we should kno-” Akashi couldn’t finish his sentence as he was cut off by another voice.

“Tetsuya-sama, where are you?” The voice said from a distance. At the sound of said voice, Kuroko ran towards Akashi, catching the ex-captain off guard, and shoved the redhead into a bush.

“Tetsuya-sama?” The voice repeated, closer this time. “Ah, there you are.” The sound of shoes snapping twigs and crunching leaves reached the ears of both males, one peeking out through the leaves of a bush, and the other staring straight into the gray eyes of the intruder.

“Marcuil.” The sound of the name from Kuroko’s mouth made recognition flash through Akashi’s thoughts. _‘It’s him...so he did know Tetsuya after all…’_ Akashi was drawn back to reality as Kuroko continued. “What are you doing here?” Marcuil chuckled.

“Tetsuya-sama, shouldn’t I be asking _you_ that question? Trying to escape now are we? We certainly can’t have _that_ happening now can we?” Marcuil’s expression, visible only to Kuroko, as for Akashi, the bush was skewing his vision, had turned more mocking and devious with every word. Akashi saw Kuroko clenching his fists so hard that Akashi thought Kuroko’s nails might even break through the milky white colored skin.

**“Why are you here, Marcuil?”** Kuroko’s voice seemed to contain something horribly inhuman-something that seemed to contain nothing of the normally polite and kind boy-as the teal-head spoke. The air shifted with every word the boy spoke, and the previously beautiful night sky sown with stars seemed to now be hiding behind ominous gray clouds. Kuroko’s statement left even nature itself eerily silent for a few moments. The silence was shattered by none other than than the very man who seemed to be the cause of the whole mess.

“Tetsuya-sama, please calm yourself. I am here to report to you that His Majesty has called for your return.” Marcuil made a slight bow to the boy, seemingly unperturbed by the fuming teal-head in front of him. Internally however, the man was startled mainly but there was also a sufficient amount of fear to remind the butler of exactly how powerful the boy in front of him was. Akashi on the other hand was more curious about the new side of Kuroko he had discovered. Even for the ever ‘absolute’ Akashi however, there was also a slight _slight_ hint of fear present in his mind.

“I see...Very well then.” Kuroko’s previous tone of voice seemed to have disappeared, his anger subsiding, as the King was one person he couldn’t defy without severe consequences to the people he cared about. “Proceed ahead of me, Marcuil. I will follow shortly.” Marcuil walked away without any words of protest, leaving the two teenagers alone in the garden. “Akashi-kun....you can come our now.” Kuroko said once he had assured himself that the butler was truly gone. Akashi emerged from the bushes, twigs and leaves slightly ripping his uniform.

“Tetsuya, next time, I expect a warning before being assaulted.” Akashi said this calmly and cooly, purposefully avoiding the subject of Kuroko’s ‘outburst’.

“I apologize Akashi-kun. I will make sure to do so next time.” Kuroko said this in his normal monotone expression, unlike earlier, when his anger towards Marcuil had cracked his mask for a few moments. “Akashi-kun…” The boy hesitated.

“What is it, Tetsuya?” Akashi said, seeing the boy’s hesitation in telling him what he wanted to.

“...Nevermind.” Kuroko looked Akashi straight in the eye, and began to ask him something. “Akashi-kun, please don’t tell any of the others that you saw me today.” Akashi opened his mouth to protest, but Kuroko only shook his head, indicating that he really didn’t want the others to know. Akashi sighed, and nodded slight in agreement. Kuroko smiled at that. “Thank you Akashi-kun.” Then, Kuroko’s face turned serious. “Akashi-kun, you and everyone else need to go home as soon as possible...please.” Kuroko’s voice lowered at the last part, and the boy continued, as he began turning away from the redhead. “Staying here any longer will put you all in danger...please, go back home, if not for your sakes, for your families. Please...just...forget about me…” Akashi saw water drip from Kuroko’s face as the boy’s voice became nothing more than a very small whisper at the last phrase.

“Tets-” Before Akashi could call out to the boy, the wind suddenly picked up, and Akashi was blinded by the wind, forcing him to close his eyes. When he reopened his eyes, he was in front of the doors to the ballroom, where the GOM and Chiaki were all standing near, now calm and seemingly looking around for him. When they spotted him, they began walking towards him, he disregarded them and looked for their phantom; _his_ phantom. The invisible boy was nowhere to be seen, both disappointing and angering the redhead at the same time.

“We’re sorry Akashicchi...we couldn’t get to Kurokocchi…” Kise said, snapping the redhead out of his thoughts as he acknowledged the people around him, his ex-teamates, and people he considered his friends, all looking apologetic and sad that they couldn’t find their phantom.

“It’s alright. I had no success as well.” Everyone was shocked at Akashi forgiving them, as their ex-captain rarely ever forgave failure if not at all.

“Oi, Akashi, did something happen? Did you eat something weird when you left?” Aomine asked, suspicious of the strange behavior the redhead was conducting. Akashi however, was lost in his thoughts once again, his anger and sadness melting jnto happiness at the fact he had met his Tetsuya today, causing a slight smile to fall upon his lips.

“Ah! Akashicchi is smiling! SMILING!” Kise exclaimed to the rest of the GOM, who were just as startled. Midorima was the one to snap out of it first, asking the red-head if he was alright.

“Akashi, are you alright? Not like I care, nandayo.” Midorima quickly added the last part, due to his tsundere personality.

“Aka-chin?” Was the only thing that came out of Murasakibara’s mouth as he was too busy munching on the snacks he had obtained from the banquet table.

“It’s nothing.” Akashi said, as he turned to face Chiaki, his smile fading, and his face morphing into a serious expression. “Chiaki. I believe that we should head home for today. At least we know hip is safe.” Chiaki nodded, and called for the car using magic to contact him. Once the car arrived, they all left the building, driving back to the Takao Vacation Mansion, where the rest were waiting. Inside the car, Akashi’s only had one thought.

_‘Tetsuya. I’m afraid I can’t fufill your request. Because none of us are leaving until we get you to come back with us. And I’m afraid I’m no exception.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally done with all the formatting! It took a while to to get the hang of it, but I think I've got it now. Thanks to all of you who have actually decided to read this story, and I hope you will enjoy the second arc as well, which I have yet to finish, but I will get there eventually. Hopefully. I will post the chapters from the second arc that are on FFnet here tomorrow. I'm also debating whether or not I should post my other fic, separate from this series, 'The Phantom Heir' on here. I'm going to post a new chapter of that one tomorrow or tonight depending on when I finish for those of you who have read it on FFnet. Please give me your opinions and thoughts on the story as a whole if possible. Once again, thank you for reading!


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